Today’s Consumer

The Challenge of Business In Canada, billions of dollars of goods and services are bought, sold and exchanged daily In 2009, Statistics Canada reports that the average household in Canada spent $71,117 Since no 2 consumers are alike, the challenge for businesses is to decide what goods and services consumers need or want and in what numbers

Values and Goals Values are important and enduring beliefs that we feel are important in life Values are influenced by family, friends and peers Although values often remain constant, they can change as a result of a traumatic event Re-evaluate your priorities in life Goals are related to values… goals are things which we want to achieve in life Goals can be Short-term Long-term

Values and Goals Goals are related to values… goals are things which we want to achieve in life Goals can be Short-term Long-term

Choices Since most consumers can not buy all the goods and services they want … you have to make choices For most people making good choices is important… for some making the wrong choice can have very negative consequences such as: Not being able to pay the rent Not have the ability to buy food or clothing

Go to thhttp:// tableaux/sum- som/l01/cst01/famil130g-eng.htme site What did the average household spend the most on? The least on?

Why We Buy – Income and Price The amount of money consumers have to spend has a big influence on what they buy Low Income vs High Income families Responsible for kids or aging family members Price is still the most important. They expect good value for their money Some believe the higher the price the better the quality, but that is not always true

Status Some people want to have the biggest and best things that cost a lot of money. This desire to flaunt purchases to impress others is called conspicuous consumption. Unfortunately some people buy these things and cannot afford them, therefore going into credit card debt. Or many times these goods just are not used.

Current Trends Although jeans and t-shirts remain fashion basics, it is the different, or “in” look that lures teenage and adult consumers to retail stores. Clothes help create an image. It can be an indicator of status, popularity or being part of a certain group. You might even be influenced by your friends to buy something you don’t really want, which is called peer pressure.

Current Trends Staying in style can be costly. The latest fashions quickly become obsolete and are replaced by something new. gs-that-went-obsolete-in ?op=1 gs-that-went-obsolete-in ?op=1

Current Trends Read the article about current trends: Answer the following questions: What is newism? What are virgin consumers? Research 5 of the prducts mentioned in the article and for each one explain why a person would want to buy it. The more detail the better.

Safety Product safety has become a major public and consumer issue Consumers often buy: Cars for safety Install child car seats Were protective gear when playing sports Helmets, eye protection etc… Having a house built by reputable trades people so the work meets safety and building codes

Promotion Today business advertising and promotion are big dollar items used to make consumers aware of their goods and services Research by, Go-to-Marketing of Seattle, Washington found that: "30% of companies spend between 3-5% of their revenue on marketing 45% of companies spend over 6% (most of those between 6-10%) Companies launching a new market or in a new territory, expect to spend approximately 20% of revenue to fund that program." Some companies use a technique called “lifestyle advertising” – the use of young, healthy, attractive people to promote their products Common for: Jeans and clothing Beverages and fast food