Q: Are you a "contemporary consumer"?

[Icarus]

Okay, I'd like to pose this question to the members of the forum, partly because I'm interested in the responses from the intelligent individuals here (and not the bunch of half-cut dimwits that roam my city), and partly because I have to write an essay on the results for my multimedia design degree -_-;;

The question posed is "Are you a contemporary consumer"?

In short, society and its members purchase products according to various factors, and quite often, these factors will bear more influence than personal taste, giving rise to the term "impulse buying". Quite often, someone will go out and purchase something on a whim, usually based on the look or feel of the product, or how it fits in with our tastes, or even based on some snazzy bit of advertising that caught your attention.

Occasionally, people will buy certain products according to certain events - birthdays, anniversaries etc - products that they would not usually contemplate purchasing. I personally have a habit of drifting around a shop, looking at different items, and when something catches my eye, I tend to look at it for a bit, weigh up the pros and cons, go off and look at similar items while I make my decision, and then decide. Quite often I don't even make the purchase, due to my indecisive shopping nature. And I absolutely hate buying presents, because I never know what to buy.

Anyway, there are plenty of factors that influence a consumer:

• Promotional campaigns, such as the January Sales, or a good advertising campaign
• A consumer's trust in a particular company or brand
• Product loyalty - you like it, you keep using it
• Commercial occasions, such as Christmas or Valentines Day
• Changes in society
• Technological influences
• Social trends
• The latest fashion or styles
• Cost of the products

So then, "are you a contemporary consumer"? Are you affected by these factors to a degree when considering a purchase? Are you not affected at all, and rely on personal taste? Do you reckon there are other factors at play? How do you go about shopping?

Please discuss and comment. Thanks in advance. ^_^

[Turrican]

Sure I'll help you. I studied the same subject for a while. Maybe you even had to read Daniel Miller's classic "A Theory of Shopping".

One simple premise to do is that there's general consensus that the higher level of instruction and overall knowledge and individual has reached, the more diffìcult is for marketing to lure him/her into buying. The person might question his/her needs, and reject the temptation of an impulse buy. That's also why you see commercials of the most basic products of everyday life on tv, which are aimed more at housewifes than, say, professors.

Anyway, all the issues you mentioned work in a way or the other, so in a sense we are all affected by them, either by trusting a company or not trusting it, and so on.

But I guess you're more interested in my personal behavior, so, to make it short:

-Promotional campaigns, such as the January Sales, or a good advertising campaign

Promotional campaigns rarely affect me, as they're rarely done for products I'm interested in. Good advertising, is a different matter. Like every other expressive form, a good advertising is something I can appreciate. If the advert shows wit, irony, and generally is pleasing to watch, that will leave me at least a "neutral" impression about the product; that is, I understand that we live in the world of falseness and the product might be rotten anyway, but at least the advert doesn't alienate me from it.

On the other hand, if a product's advertising gampaign fails to reach its target / doesn't meet my tastes, then this will probably form a negative prejudice on the product. Case in point: Sega and Nintendo, they used to make terrible, terrible adverts here in Italy, with testimonials who tried to be "yankee" and it was overall a pityful show. I would have never approached a videogame by myself if those guys were telling on adverts us to do so. (ask Randorama, Lunardei, Gemant, I'm sure they feel the same).

-A consumer's trust in a particular company or brand

Sure, this is a vital point in my consumer life. Basically, when you buy a company's products, you are signing a sort of pact with these guys... Given them your hard earned money, so it's better try to be sure that you're not giving money to the wrong ones. And while you may never meet them, this relationship is still based on trust. However, the smart consumer is always alert, and the trust is never blind: you know when to jump wagon, when sega's hardware begins to be crap, when Nintendo is outrageously out of time, when Sony is so arrogant to refuse small developers' games. And, since I still buy Castlevania games, you can tell I'm not especially smart.

However, I'm sure anyone on this forum should answer that indeed we tend to trust companies and brands. Videogamers are the most classic example of this, as we could sacrifice our sons to help SNK avoid bankrupt, and then we don't even know the names of the people that worked on our favorite games, the same nameless guys that maybe were fired by SNK six months ago.

-Product loyalty - you like it, you keep using it

^Generally true - what I write for the previous question applies here too.

-Commercial occasions, such as Christmas or Valentines Day

I guess this depends on the quality of your social life... In my case, not much. It's interesting here to ask people if they buy more often for themselves or for others. This is crucial.

-Changes in society

Society around us affects us all, but it would be difficult to mention a specific case where it changed our buy habits. However, being 2006 and seeing I'm still without a cell phone, I'm pretty safe to answer "not much". The question is maybe a bit too vague, though.

-Technological influences

As above. Also, I have never been the early adopter type. I'm grateful to the millions of "videogaming fodder" guys that often spend a lot only to make the other learn from their mistakes. Still, it's a delicate balance: you should intervene and spend your money at the right time, when it's not too late to enjoy some products which are clearly produced to be consumed in a certain set time. Again, no example more striking than videogames.

-Social trends & The latest fashion or styles

Hardly. Being the secluded intellectual type I have little use for fashion, style and such. It's also debatable that they affect me negatively, ie not dressing in a certain way and such... "Casual" is the key word here.

-Cost of the products

Heck sure! The materialist in me might even stretch as far as saying that's the most important issue brought so far. However, it's a little more subtle than this, actually. As a videogame player / media consumer, I'm well aware that I often buy "shells" when the respective "ghosts" could be at the distance of a click on emule. So, spending big money for shiny pretty boxes (or for the ideal of legality, if you like) isn't the most materialist behavior.

I tried to answer you by a videogamer's perspective, as you can see. So, in the end, am I a contemporary consumer? Well, yes, of course I am. I'm even an ebayer, so that says a lot. Honestly I no one reading the shmups forum could say otherwise. But the fact that those factors you mention do affect me and everyone else doesn't mean that I'm not sophisticated enough to rely on my personal tastes, far from it. I'm a consumer, I try to be an intelligent one.

[GaijinPunch]

I'll try to keep this brief.
EDIT - I failed to do that.

In short, I don't think I'm a comtemporary conumer. I try to consider myself an educated consumer. I have become very good at waiting a day or two at buying something so I can read product reviews of it on the internet.

* Promotional campaigns, such as the January Sales, or a good advertising campaign

Only if it's something I'm already looking for. Commercials have never convinced me I've needed something (that I know of).

* Product loyalty - you like it, you keep using it

I'm likely to buy upgraded products or products from the same company if I like it. I bought a first gen iPod, and fucking hated it. It was my first MP3 player, and I bought it b/c I said when they first came out "when they can make a 20GB MP3 player, I"ll buy it". That was my mistake, but oh, well. I bought a Creative Zen after that. I read fairly good reviews about it, but I'm a seller. It's got a poor interface (buttons are responsive, but it's slow) and the filters it uses to display lists of songs sucks. Can't list by group, only by group, THEN by album -- weak product, and will probably give it to my sister when something better comes along.

* Commercial occasions, such as Christmas or Valentines Day

Interesting. I've pretty much gotten to the point where if I want something within reason, I get it at some point. I don't go bananas by any means. I'm just content with what I have, and buy new toys once every few paychecks. Xmas rolls around, and my mom wants to know what to get me. When I was a kid, I had a list a mile long. Now, I have to think of things that I want so she can have something to give as a gift. Case in point, a 5GB Seagate portable USB drive thingy. Useful, and I will use it, but I doubt I'd have bought it. Also got some DVDs that I doubt I would have purchased soon, but glad I got them.

* Changes in society

I'm usually the guy laughing/cyring when society changes.

* Technological influences

Most of what I buy is tech-related, so yes. However, as a technology staffer for most of my professional career, I have bought many PCs b/c I use them. I've yet to buy a palm pilot of any kind, and own only two MP3 players. A nano (1GB) for the gym, and the aforementioend Zen for the car.

* Social trends

I set these, don't follow them.

* The latest fashion or styles

For clothes and haircuts, yes. For everything else - it only comes into play if I'm due to upgrade the product in question. Style and fashion will have an impact on my opinion, but I will not upgrade on aesthetics alone.

* Cost of the products

It's going to have to be a pretty charming thing for pretty cheap for me to buy something that I may or may not use. I hate shit cluttered up in my room, as I move a lot.

[Icarus]

Thanks for the responses so far guys. I was worried that I might not get enough feedback to write a particularly detailed essay on, but so far you've given me some good food for thought. ^_^

I'll try to keep this brief.
EDIT - I failed to do that.

Don't worry about keeping it brief or not, any response is useful. ^_^

I guess I tend to rely too much on my own tastes when shopping, and that tends to come through in the stuff I buy. Usually I get stuff that I think would be suitable, either for myself or for others. I guess that's what hinders me in some ways, as I have the compulsion to buy a lot of junk (as is evident by the rather large figurine collection sitting on top of my wardrobe), as well as buy on impulse (Ibara... ^_^;; ).

I'm probably influenced by external opinion as well, especially in videogame purchases, as I tend to hold off on buying something until it's affordable, and there's good feedback for the game in question going around. I just started my DS collection, and the threads on the Off Topic forum generated my interest in some games, while my own tastes made me buy others.

I should probably learn to think before I buy. (Then again, I tend to think too much before buying, and end up not buying at all ^_-)

Anyone else like to add some feedback to the main post? All comments are appreciated. ^_^

[Shatterhand]

I rarely buy anything. I don't even a cell phone. I took like 7 years to update my Pentium MMX 233 Mhz to a Athlon Sempron 2200.

I usually buy stuff when I need, when they may be useful for me, or may entertain me for a long time (like games). That's what's matter for me.

And I always try to get the best balance between quality/brand name/price.

[Fighter17]

I buy stuff if I need it.

So no to your answer.

[Vexorg]

I will probably also fail to keep this short. (Edit: Yeah, I did.)

First, a bit of background. I live on my own with an income that allows me to cover all my living expenses with little difficulty, and leaves a moderate amount of discretionary income per month. My income is not, however, sufficient to give much consideration to home ownership at this point (this is primarily due to the fact that house prices in this area are very high.) In a nutshell, this means that if there is something I want, most of the time I can afford it. On the other hand, I can't go out and make major purchases on a regular basis.

As for the specific factors you mentioned:

Promotional campaigns, such as the January Sales, or a good advertising campaign
To be honest, I find that I actually don't get exposed to a whole lot of advertising these days. I don't currently own a TV (I'll probably talk more about this later, as it provides a good example of my thinking on the topic of buying things) and rarely read newspapers. This means that most of the advertising I am exposed to comes from either the radio (which I listen to in the car) or the Internet. Over the years, I have found on the radio stations I listen to, there seems to be a core group of 15-20 primary advertisers who are responsible for the vast majority of the advertising on any given station. These advertisers tend to fall into a few categories (car dealerships and jewelry stores, and a couple of local electronics chains) that offer mostly big ticket durable goods that people won't be buying very often. Needless to say, since I'm not in the habit of buying jewelry, this has little effect on me. I tend to be particularly wary of Internet advertising, since a significant portion of it comes from questionable sources.

A consumer's trust in a particular company or brand
Product loyalty - you like it, you keep using it
I'm going to put these together, since the answer seems to be the same for both. There are some specific companies I will avoid when purchasing from, usually for reasons of poor (or even abusive) customer service. On the other hand, the company I work at also tends to be the bete noir of its particular industry. I do try to judge products based on their merits, but on occasion (especially when there's an oligopoly for a particular product,) the market pressures you to take sides.

A good example of this is the so-called Cola Wars. The Coca-Cola Corporation and Pepsico have spent years and billions of dollars trying to establish their respective brand loyalties. and quite a few people have picked their side by now. I happen to prefer Coke myself, but that preference doesn't extend one bit past the two companies' cola offerings. I will drink Coke instead of Pepsi when it is available, but I could care less whether I was drinking Sprite, Sierra Mist or 7-Up, nor does it matter to me if I'm drinking Minute Maid or Tropicana orange juice. I just don't usually drink Pepsi. In reality, brand loyalty only really matters in cases where there are only a few major players in the market, and there is little to distinguish them from one another. In his book The Dilbert Future, Scott Adams coined a term that sums up this type of market situation perfectly: Confusopolies. The term refers to groups of companies whose product and price are so similar that they have to rely on confusion to attract customers. The soft drink companies are one example of this, as are mobile phone carriers, insurance companies and banks.

As for product loyalty, if a company's products work, I will stick with them. For example, I build my own computers, and for the past 5-6 years I have been using AMD CPUs almost exclusively in my systems. This does not preclude me from buying Intel stuff (in fact, my most recent computer purchase was an Intel-based Dell notebook) but when I build systems, I will most likely be going with AMD processors, since I've used them in the past, and they've worked well. If a company's products have worked well in the past, I will frequently stick with them. If not, I will look elsewhere.

Commercial occasions, such as Christmas or Valentines Day
I do some Christmas shopping, but I don't go overboard on it.

Changes in society
On occasion, I will base a purchasing decision on political philosophy, although most often I don't bother paying attention to this. Just last week I returned a product that I was going to give as a Christmas present when upon doing some research after the purchase I found that the maker is involved in political causes which I do not support.

Technological influences
I am a technology junkie and a gadget freak. I have quite a bit more than my fair share of techno-gadgets and gizmos. I own three PocketPCs and a Nintendo DS, and I'm rarely found without at least one of these. When I buy a new cell phone, I give significant consideration to features, and will often buy a high end model (even though I may find that the features get used far less than I might expect.) I will frequently do research and comparison shop before making a technology purchase.

Social trends
The latest fashion or styles
I could care less about fashion or style. For clothing, I tend to try to stick to a basic, functional wardrobe, and could care less about designer labels or anything like that. I do have some brand preferences here as well (for the type of clothes I wear Eddie Bauer seems to be a good place to find them.) On the other hand, I tend to be wary of products that happen to be trendy. One example of this is the iPod. I've never been a big fan of Apple products in the first place (I've run into a few too many rabid Mac fans for that) but I have to wonder just how much of the sales of the iPod can be attributed to people buying them because they happen to be the current trendy fashion accessory?

Cost of the products
I tend not to place as high an importance on cost as I might place on other factors when I make a purchasing decision. I think I tend to place durability and reliability at the top of that particular list. I'd much rather pay $150 for a product that's going to last me five years or more than $75 for a similar product that is going to need to be replaced again in two years.

As I mentioned earlier, I currently have no TV in my apartment. When I moved into this apartment roughly four months ago, I planned to get a TV as soon as possible. I did look around at TVs for a while, and although I could get something that would be adequate for roughly $150, what I would really like to get would run at least $750 or so. Since the cost of LCD TVs seems to be coming down at a steady pace, I decided to wait for the price to drop some at the time. As time has gone on, I've found that it's actually quite easy to live without TV. I'll probably end up getting one eventually, but I've found that I'm really in no hurry to do so, and if I don't mind waiting a few months I'll probably be rewarded with lower prices for doing so.

I also find that if I don't have a pressing need for something, I'm going to be more willing to stick with what I have than I would be to run out and replace it with the shiny new model. For example, my car is a beater '84 Toyota Camry with a big dent in the back, a trunk that won't open, visible rust spots, threadbare interior, 210,000+ miles on the clock and who knows how many spiders living inside. My parents have been bugging me for years to get a new car. I've looked at cars off and on, and I've even come close to buying one a time or two, but in the end, the factor that seems to win out is the fact that my car, ugly as it is, still runs, gets me from point A to point B and does so with a minimum of problems. Yes, a new car would be nice, but at this point I'd much rather have an ugly yet reliable beater and thousands in the bank than a shiny new car, far less money in the bank and a monthly car payment.

---

Anyway, with all that said, this doesn't mean that I'm some sort of financial wizard or anything. I am not immune to impulse buys (and I've made a few that I've ended up regretting) and I do have some things I could improve on (probably my biggest budget leak right now is the fact that I eat out far more than I really should instead of bringing a lunch to work or cooking at home.) One of the things that I've read in one of those Meyers-Briggs test results for my personality type (ENTP) is that we tend to be good at making money, but not so good at managing it. Based on my experience, I would say that this assessment is accurate.

Financial management is definitely not my strong suit, but I do place a high priority on making sure that I live within my means. I do have a bit more income than the average person at my age and with similar education would have, which helps make this possible, but I do recognize the need to make sure that I am spending money wisely. I do make the occasional splurge (the most recent one being an Xbox360 on launch day) and the occasional impulse buy. I do like to think that I consider major purchases carefully to make sure that I'm getting the best product I can for my money, even if it does mean spending more.

And yes, I think that I probably completely failed to keep this short. Hopefully you can find something to use in there.

[shiftace]

Promotional campaigns, such as the January Sales, or a good advertising campaign

"Advertising is Evil" is part of my world view to the extent that I slightly avoid well-marketed things.

A consumer's trust in a particular company or brand

It enters my thinking. I used to think it'd be good, on some level, to buy only from the most ethical companies, but I've given up trying to determine which ones those are. I try to avoid Wal-Mart and MS, but that's about all the attention I care to pay any more. Sony is starting to sound like a good target to whine about and shun, though, too. Now that I have a PS2, I suppose they can go on the list.

Product loyalty - you like it, you keep using it

Quite a bit of that.

Commercial occasions, such as Christmas or Valentines Day

My most recent purchases might have more to do with time off than with holiday traditions. I'm pretty oblivious to holidays, but there might be some correlation.

Changes in society

Not sure what this means. I'll assume it gets covered below.

Technological influences

Not really. I use things until they break. I have a prepaid cell phone, I only ever used it to talk to 2 or 3 people, irregularly, and it's been expired for several months. I have 3 outdated PCs and a box of scavenged parts. I still use a graphing calculator I got in the early 90s.

Social trends
The latest fashion or styles

I'm a recluse. I try to ignore these. Zero to slight-negative bias, just like advertising.

Cost of the products

For nearly equivalent products, price matters some. I don't always buy the cheapest though, I have to admit I've been swayed by esthetics and even packaging. I feel bad about that.


Overall, I don't shop a lot, but when I do, I have specific things in mind before I start. Most of my discretionary buying is books & CDs. There, I might have a list of up to a hundred items of interest, but I almost certainly won't buy outside that list. And I won't remember more than 20% of it at once. So I spend a lot of time browsing, and on a good day, I'll buy something.

I did buy a book on impulse once, it was a coffee-table book about pigeons on the clearance rack. I bought it more because it was inexplicable than because it was interesting or helpful. That was 6 months ago, I think I have looked at it for under 5 minutes since.

Oh, and I'm a student, so I don't have a lot of money.

[Randorama]

Are you not affected at all, and rely on personal taste? Do you reckon there are other factors at play? How do you go about shopping?

Please discuss and comment. Thanks in advance. ^_^

Well, i'm almost an extremist on the "personal taste" side.
I keep an eye on offers (for dresses, mainly), but i tend to skip any kind of reasoning that even remotely involves social issues or trends (i follow my own beat, so to speak).
I'm more than willing to spend a lot for a good and lasting product, or for high quality.
One example is food: i will never buy bad products because they're cheap, especially if they're a "luxury" (i.e. i can easily live without wine: if i buy it, i'm willing to spend money and get a good product.Of course, i also know how much i'm supposed to spend for a given product).
I usually skip any kind of advertisement, but i usually get informed (a lot?) when i want to buy something.
In general, i like when companies tell me what they're going to sell me, may it be chocolate or hi-tech: if i don't know the technical details, i will learn them.

Hope it helps.

[benstylus]

My turn:

Promotional campaigns, such as the January Sales, or a good advertising campaign

If it's something that I already want, and someone offers a great promotion with it, yes I am probably more likely to get it with that promotion. For example, when Soul Calibur 2 was on the horizon, I was looking forward to the game, but was going to wait until after the release and pick it up used. However, when I found out they were offering a free artbook with preorder, I immediately went and preordered and picked up the artbook. To date, that artbook has been the single greatest preorder bonus I've ever received. It's quite high quality and pretty big too.

When I purchased my cell phone, I only did so because there was a discount on the phone so it was $100, then a total of $150 in rebates with a 1 year contract. Had it not been for that promotion, I would probably just use a land line.

A consumer's trust in a particular company or brand

Interestingly enough, I kind of go the opposite direction on this one... instead of putting my faith in a company or brand I tend to avoid companies or brands I dislike - such as Procter & Gamble.

So instead of buying Charmin toilet paper, I buy 'something else' (Scott was the last brand I purchased)

Instead of buying Gilette razors, I buy 'something else' (Shick was the last brand I purchased)

Product loyalty - you like it, you keep using it

Oh absolutely - I will continue to use a product until it no longer performs adequately for my needs.

Take the Kitchen-Aid mixers for example - my mom had one when I was growing up, and it always worked without any problems for the 20 years or so I lived at home. Those things are built to last forever. When I got my first apartment, the very first thing I purchased was a Kitchen-Aid mixer. It's only been 3 or 4 years so far, but no problems yet, and I don't anticipate any in the future.

Commercial occasions, such as Christmas or Valentines Day

I do buy Christmas gifts for people and possibly Valentine's Day gifts if I'm not single at the time, but it's more of a societal thing rather than direct marketing to me. The rest of my family exchanges Christmas gifts and it'd be a bit awkward if I received gifts but didn't give any out. I do try to keep things pretty low key though - there's no need to be super extravagant - doing that just leads to getting in debt buying people things they didn't really need.

Changes in society

This does not affect me in any way, except when the changes in society make it difficult for me to obtain items that were once common.

People stop buying a certain product as often, and then stores stop carrying, and eventually the manufacturer stops making it and I have to find a replacement.

Technological influences

I tend to keep my tech devices as long as possible, and when I do have to upgrade, I will often go for the mid to high-end products with the features I'm looking for. My CD Player, for example, is a Sony 400-Disc player. I did not buy it because it was a Sony. I bought it because it would play CDRs (so I can keep my originals pristine), it had grouping and text features, and it had the ability to program OUT songs I didnt like.

Additionally, the only reason I bought it when I did was because it was an open box model so I only paid about $200 for it.

Social trends

Isn't this the same thing as changes in society? Or would it count under fashion or style since they're more trend-oriented? Either way, I don't think it deserves its own heading.

The latest fashion or styles

I do not adhere to the latest trends in fashion. With clothes, I tend to buy several items that I can mix and match to create several distinct looks.

As far as styles in other areas such as furniture or electronics, I don't really worry too much about that. I try to ensure that the pieces I do have complement each other well, (for example, I have a black computer, so I bought a black monitor and black speakers to match).

I will not buy something simply because it is popular though (I still don't have an Ipod).

Cost of the products

Not really a huge factor for me. I mean for regular household products, I will often try the generic brand as it's nice to save a buck or two, but if it doesn't work quite as well, I will go back to the normal brand.

To me, it's more about what I want from the product. If I can get what I want and get a great deal that's even better.

But I'd rather pay full price and get what I want than get a great deal on something I don't.

[system11]

An interesting question.

Personally, I'm not exposed to much advertising. I block banner ads, I don't watch much TV, and in magazines the ads tend to be for games and so on - I already have my own opinions on them, and probably already know the release date if it was something I'm likely to be interested in. Online and physical shopping is very different. Online, I'll virtual window shop. I'm talking clicking and surfing through pages of products on Play-Asia, that sort of thing. I'm much more likely to buy non essential goods online. When physically going shopping, I know what I want and I go and buy it. I try to do this in as efficient manner as possible, but I'll sometimes walk past the CD aisle in the supermarket.

Product loyalty. Absolutely a consideration. If company 'x' has always made a brand of shoes that have done the job perfectly, I'll often not even bother to look at alternatives when replacing them. I've been wearing Doc Martens for nearly 20 years. When my shoes or boots wear out, which is infrequently, I'll go straight to the first place with the best priced Docs. This also goes for electronics. Sony used to make some of the best, I used to always look at Sonys range when shopping for things. Pioneer have always made top quality stuff, so I always check theirs too. This pattern only changes when a previously trusted company betrays you with something substandard. Sony have betrayed me, recently with a TV with some serious issues (not faulty), now I don't look at Sony TVs. Pioneer have never let me down, I spent £400 recently on one of their DVD player/recorder/HDD units. As ever, it's done the job admirably. I'll look at their products again next time.

Commercial occasions. An expectation of gifts. I buy what other people want me to, them being partner or family. As someone who has a lot of 'stuff', I've come to the realisation that I don't want random things given to me, and neither do I give them. I ask people what they want for these occasions. While I am a consumer, rampant consumerism annoys me.

Changes in society. If everyone else gets a Plasma TV, I won't. I think this affects the Joneses more than someone with a clue. However, there's an interesting recent example of how social situations can drive consumer behaviour, even in people who are otherwise immune from that kind of buying. The Xbox. You get Live, meet people, make friends. Then - the new one comes out. You want to keep playing games with your friends, and end up buying a 360 early rather than waiting, because they did. I did.

Technological influences - not sure what to make of that point - maybe that's my answer to it? If I have a need for some new tech, I'll buy it. If the old tech still does the job, I'll keep that instead. I still own late 70s and early 80s hifi kit, it still sounds brilliant. I don't need a wireless network, wireless controllers, or a wireless doorbell - needless technology for the sake of it in most cases.

Fashion doesn't affect me - even slightly. I buy what I need and like! I only have a mobile phone because my work gave me one. I buy clothes only when the old ones are beyond repair, and I just go and buy something that I like. Frequently if I can get an identical replacement that isn't worn out, I'll just get that. I've been wearing the same overshirt for 7 years. It is mostly falling apart and full of holes, but it still functions. When it's actually falling apart, then I'll replace it - probably with the most similar thing I can find. I repaired one of my pairs of jeans last week. It's not that I can't afford these things, it's just that I see no sense in replacing them. I always repair anything I can before replacing it. This bit went off topic.

Cost of products - I tend to buy what I want, I'll shop around for the best price but it rarely has an effect on exactly what I'm getting. As with someone else above - I get a good income, but I'm unable to afford a house because prices are insane here. I should save the money, but I waste it instead on cars. I'll probably hit an early grave anyway, so it matters little if I've nothing left when I die before retirement - there are no children.

Aside from the points you raised, there are other reasons people will buy things. Whether this makes them a contemporary consumer or not, I have no idea - still havent quite got my head around the definition, so instead I've been covering /why/ I buy things. I'll let you decide if I'm contemporary or not

People will buy things when they are bored. Pure and simple - this happens a lot. I do it. Lots of people do it. Something new to bring interest to an otherwise dull life. People will also buy to cheer themselves up - retail therapy. Again - I do this, other people do this. These are usually more impulse purchases, or the bringing forward of something you'd buy later. "I'm treating myself". If you're a collector, you might extend your collection.

Of course, the other reason people buy things? They buy things when they need them Food, fuel, tools - necessities. There's a sublevel to this that I /know/ I'm guilty of, I'll frequently buy something slightly better than what I really needed. The slightly better brand of food, the better more capable powerdrill (a recent example), the car with the bigger engine. I do this, because I can, and partially it makes me feel different for a moment, above the people buying the basic car without the power steering. I think everyone does this in their own way - wanting if only in some small way to have something better than everyone else, or better than they generally can afford. We aren't all bank managers, but we like to buy things that make us feel like we are.

There you go - a mixture of practical, logical, and psychological. I don't really mind buying things I shouldn't for irrational reasons, as long as those reasons are not ones I despise: following fashion or advertising. I want to buy things because *I* want to, to feed my own practical, selfish or nonsensical desires - not because other people want me to.

[Ganelon]

Lazy answers, be warned:

[*]Promotional campaigns, such as the January Sales, or a good advertising campaign: if the promotion is a good deal, I'll go for it; if it's just fancy advertising, I couldn't care less

[*]A consumer's trust in a particular company or brand: only for a small group of trusted companies, but still ready to be replaced by better companies

[*]Product loyalty - you like it, you keep using it: only for a small group of trusted products, but still ready to be replaced by better products

[*]Commercial occasions, such as Christmas or Valentines Day: just like you, I hate holiday shopping; no good deal = no go

[*]Changes in society: not at all unless oil goes up to $500

[*]Technological influences: know about the latest technology, don't care to spend the extravagant sums to buy them

[*]Social trends: very large looking at the big picture (why most people don't go outside shirtless during very hot summers) to quite a fair degree from a more casual perspective (long shorts rather than short shorts) to not at all from a fashion connoisseur's point of view

[*]The latest fashion or styles: don't really care at all

[*]Cost of the products: undeniably the most influencing decision for me by far; my wants are even limited by whether I can get a great deal or not. Of course, the quality of the product and how urgently I need it are just as important

[BulletMagnet]

I VERY rarely buy on impulse...if I see or hear about something, or sample it, and figure that I might like it, the first question from there is the price: I'll shop around, and if noplace is selling it for what I think it's worth, then I either forget it entirely or wait for the price to drop. I'm rather wary of advertising, or even word of mouth: apparently, some advertisers actually pay people to sit someplace, looking like "regular" folks, and remark to anyone who they strike up a conversation with about a certain product, as if they'd used it themselves and love it. I also pride myself a bit on being able to often pinpoint the vital info that commercials and print ads leave out, or do their best to minimize.

In short, I attribute most of my frugality to the simple fact that I don't have all that much money to throw around most of the time: every once in awhile when I have some extra cash I'll buy some things without checking them out "extensively" beforehand, but even then I'm usually "pretty sure" that I'm paying a fair price for whatever it is I'm getting. And since most of the time I have little to spend, I'm most often hesitant to buy anything on impulse. To bring it back to shmups for a sec, to this day I've never pre-ordered a game (or anything else, come to think of it) once in my life: in each and every case I want to either a) try it before I buy it, or at least hear from others how it turned out, or b) wait for the price to fall.

So I guess that'd label me as at least somewhat non-typical.

[Neon]

Social trends:

The latest fashion or styles:

Bleh to both of these. I'd take an mp3 player with the same functionality and half the cost as an iPod, although it was less trendy, as an example. My friends wouldn't care, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

[Icarus]

Thanks for the responses, guys. Please keep them coming, everything posted is useful (as long as it's truthful ^_-).

I buy stuff if I need it.
So no to your answer.

I find that hard to believe, as everyone has a secret collection vice ^_-
So let me ask you a question: do you "need" videogames?

[Rob]

Social trends:

The latest fashion or styles:

Bleh to both of these. I'd take an mp3 player with the same functionality and half the cost as an iPod, although it was less trendy, as an example. My friends wouldn't care, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

MP3 players? Trend hopper.

[Neon]

Social trends:

The latest fashion or styles:

Bleh to both of these. I'd take an mp3 player with the same functionality and half the cost as an iPod, although it was less trendy, as an example. My friends wouldn't care, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

MP3 players? Trend hopper.

Bitch.

Actually I'm still using a scummy mp3/cd player...I need to get with the times.

[Icarus]

No more responses? ;_;

I have until Tuesday for the essay, so if possible, maybe a couple more posts would be very helpful and appreciated. Thanks to those who have already posted.

[Neo Rasa]

[*]Promotional campaigns, such as the January Sales, or a good advertising campaign[/b]

January sales and advertising campaigns always affect me. They don't make me run out and buy buy buy, the opposite actually. I spend next to nothing on myself in the two months before Christmas as an example. I just spent a mint on myself last week and got maybe triple the amount of stuff for my money.

Advertising campaigns, if they catch my interest, will make me look into something more. Advertising will never get an impulse buy out of me though until I've done some research (unless it's some braindead thing like buying a game I've always wanted for $10.59 instead of $52.99).

[*]A consumer's trust in a particular company or brand
[*]Product loyalty - you like it, you keep using it[/b]

These kind of go hand in hand. There are definitely brands that I stick to. With games as an example, if SNK is on the label, I'll buy it sight unseen the day it's out. There are brands I'm skeptical of, loyal to, etc. It's probably one of the biggest factors for me into whether or not I buy something.

[*]Commercial occasions, such as Christmas or Valentines Day[/b]

Besides after Christmas sales, no.

[*]Changes in society[/b]

This doesn't really have any impact on me.

[*]Technological influences[/b]

Yes, but not really. I keep myself a step behind the curve to save lots of money. A major advance in technology available at the consumer level will let me buy up to something lower than whatever's just come out.

[*]Social trends[/b]

I live in a town where the best selling game is 50 Cent: Bulletproof and everyone has that dumb "tribal" tattoo around their arm, so for my mind's sake no.

[*]The latest fashion or styles[/b]

I'm neutral about this. I mean if there's a type of product all of my friends/people who's tastes I trust like, I'll look into it, but something being the hottest trend won't pull an impulse buy out of me.

[*]Cost of the products[/b]

This is a huge factor. It's very rare that my desire for a product exceeds how much I'm willing to spend on it.

[LoneSage]

I don't buy much of anything that's commercial nowadays, even though I used to be an impulse buyer (mainly with video games). For the first time in my life, I'm actually content with everything I have, I don't have a feeling to spend money anymore. I decided to use my money for something more meaningful than short-term enjoyment, like sponsoring a few kids in Africa.