Culture and Your Shopping Cart: A Simple Explanation of Consumer Behavior

Photo by Pexels

As you scroll on the clothing website, you explore the new releases section and say, “oh I like this shirt, let me add this to my cart”. You then continue to fill your cart with items that you feel would look great on you and proceed to check out. This process may seem like such as   effortless and non-important task, but have you ever wondered, why you buy the things that you buy?

If you have found yourself pondering this question, then you have been uncovering the idea and meaning of Consumer Behavior. This is the study of how individuals and organizations choose, purchase, use, and dispose of goods to satisfy a consumer needs and wants. Understanding why you buy can help your understanding of how they are marketed to you as an well.

What is Culture and Why Does It Matter?

Culture is the shared ideas, customs, social behaviors, beliefs, values, and practices of a particular set of people or society. Culture includes arts, traditions, and knowledge that is passed down through generations. Culture shapes your understanding of the world around you, which can enmesh into your shopping behaviors as well. 

This is important to marketers because once you gain an understanding of culture then you will be able to curate your business products and communication into the needs and wants of the target audience you are going after.

Cultural Elements influencing Your Purchases

▪ Subcultures are a cultural group inside of a larger culture (i.e. Hip-Hop music, LGTBQ+ Community). 

▪ Social Status is the system/ideal that ranks individuals into specific socioeconomic based on attributions like wealth, income, and education. 

▪ Cultural norms are a set of rules that are set by society that deem specific behaviors acceptable, which shape how people may move through society. 

understanding these elements will help you learn which target audience you can shape your business and marketing strategies around. Many cultures differ in cuisines, fashion and clothing, and how they use technology. 

How Culture Display Itself in the Real World?

Culture can show itself in many facets. One of the well-known subcultures is Generation Z. This generation is known to be authentic individuals, who have strong interest in social justice and sustainability, and demand diversity and inclusion professionally and in their daily lives. Gen Z is known to be the generation that have matured through the age of the internet and communicate mostly through smartphones and social media sites.A notable way that a company has marketed to Gen Z has been through the Gap Inc and Katseye Collaboration. Katseye is a popular girl group that has taken the world by storm with their rhythmic tunes and captivating choreography.

Photo by GAP Inc.

This commercial showcases the group dancing in GAP jeans with Milkshake by Kelis in the background. While this may have also been a way to target a specific subculture, this is also looked at as a way that a company has clapped back at a competitor for releasing an ad that received a lot of public criticism (Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle Ad).

What’s The Takeaway?

When looking to understand consumer behavior and how it can be implemented make sure you are aligning your messaging with the needs and wants of the consumer that you are targeting. Whether it’s a generation, high-end luxury, or rock music listeners, each of these groups are aligned by their own ideas and what fuels them to consume. So now that you have the fundamentals of consumer behavior, what fuels your purchases?