Family & Household

influences
Reference material

• Class slides
• Class discussions
• Textbook Ch 6

For reference reading material on all sessions,

please refer to the course outline uploaded on AIS
PART II: EXTERNAL INFLUENCES

6-3
• The household is the basic purchasing and consuming
unit and is, therefore, of great importance to marketing
managers of most products. The family household
consists of two or more related persons living together
in a dwelling unit. Nonfamily households are dwelling
units occupied by one or more unrelated individuals.

• Why is it important to study Household as a

consumption unit?

• Family households are a primary mechanism whereby

cultural and social-class values and behavior patterns
are passed on to the next generation (eg, Japan tea)
The Household Influences Most Consumption Decisions

6-5
Structure of Household unit

➢ Household
➢Consists of all the people who occupy a housing unit (a
house, apartment, group of rooms, or single room
designed to be occupied as a separate living quarters).
➢ Family Household
➢One having at least two members related by birth,
marriage, or adoption, one of whom is the householder
(householder owns or rents the residence).
➢ Nonfamily Household
➢A householder living alone or exclusively with others to
whom he or she is not related.
Structure of Household unit

Source: Mothersbaugh et al Consumer Behavior 14 ed

• The household life cycle is the classification of the
household into stages through which it passes over time
based on the age and marital status of the adults and the
presence and age of children. The household life cycle is a
valuable marketing tool because members within each stage
or category face similar consumption problems. Thus, they
represent potential market segments.
The Household Life Cycle
The Traditional view of Family Life Cycle
6. 1.
A few years People married
later the female by their early
would die 20s

5. 2.
The male Couple had
would several
eventually die children

3.
4. Their children
The original grew up and
couple retired started their
own families
• Divorced Individuals

• Single Parent Families

• Empty Nesters

• LGBTQ Couples

• Cohabiting Couples

• Boomerang Kids

• Blended families/ Stepfamilies (U.S.)

• Families with 50/50 Custody

• Unmarried Individuals Having a Baby (U.S.)

Marketing Strategy Based on the
Household Life Cycle

➢HLC can be an important segmentation

variable.

➢The purchase and consumption of many

products are driven by the HLC, with each stage
posing unique problems and opportunities.

6-12
The Household Life Cycle
Stages of the Household Life Cycle

6-14
Segmentation matrices based on the
Household Life Cycle

➢Factors such as income, occupation, and

education heavily influence how an individual
meets his/her needs.
➢So, it makes sense to combine stage in the HLC
with one of these variables to aid in refined
market segmentation and strategy formulation.

6-15
Marketing Strategy Based on the
Household Life Cycle
HLC/Occupational Category Matrix

6-16
Empty Nesters
Older parents whose children have left home, often leading to changes in lifestyle and
consumption.

Products:
Travel and leisure (e.g., cruises, guided tours)
Home renovation and improvement (e.g., kitchen upgrades, garden landscaping)
Health and wellness products (e.g., fitness equipment, dietary supplements)

USA (empty nesters after 18) tech products that can help seniors age in place. These might include medical
monitoring devices, fire hazard prevention tools, and home security systems
LGBTQ community

Couples in a same-sex relationship, with or without children, have specific needs and
preferences.

•Products:
• Niche lifestyle products (e.g., LGBTQ+ friendly travel destinations)
• Adoption and fertility services (e.g., surrogacy, legal services)
• Home décor and furnishings reflecting their unique styles (e.g., custom artwork)

BeUnic was founded in 2019 as a queer-owned marketplace for Gender-Inclusive and Pride-Themed products
Families with 50/50 Custody/ Co-parenting a child without living together

Parents sharing equal custody of their children, often necessitate duplicate or dual-use items.

Products:
• Duplicate child necessities (e.g., car seats, toys, clothing)
• Flexible scheduling services (e.g., co-parenting apps, shared calendars)
• Travel and transport solutions (e.g., compact travel gear, portable cribs)
Family Decision Making
Family decision making is the process by which decisions that
directly or indirectly involve two or more family members are
made.

Family purchases are often compared to organizational buying

decisions. However, with family purchasing, there is usually
less explicit criteria, and most family purchases directly affect
the other members of the family.

Most important, many family purchases

are inherently emotional and affect the
relationships between the family
members.
FAMILY DECISION PROCESS

Family decision making involves consideration of questions such as

who buys
who decides
who uses.

Family decision making is complex and involves emotion and interpersonal relations as well as product
evaluation and acquisition.

Household member participation in the decision process varies by involvement with the specific product,
role specialization, personal characteristics, and one’s culture and subculture.

Marketing managers must analyze the household decision process separately for each product
category within each target market.
ROLE BEHAVIOUR

• Initiator:
The family member who first suggests or thinks of the idea of buying a particular product or service.
Eg, A child suggesting the family buys a new PlayStation gaming console (Sony).

• Influencer:
The family member whose opinions and advice influence the decision.
Eg, A teenager influencing the choice of a new family car based on what his friends have, elder member, Case?

• Decision Maker:
The person with the final authority to make the purchase decision.
Eg, Parents deciding on the brand of the new car, toys

• Buyer:
The family member who actually makes the purchase.
Eg, The mother going to the store to buy the selected brand of groceries (Big Bazaar).

• User:
The individuals who use the product.
Eg, Mother using the new washing machine.
Marketing Strategy & Family Decision Making
➢Family Purchase Roles

➢Determinants of Family Purchase Roles

➢Conflict Resolution

➢Consumer Socialization and Marketing to Children

Determinants of Family Purchase Roles

How families interact in a purchase decision is largely dependent on the

➢culture and subculture in which the family exists

➢the role specialization of different family members
➢the degree of involvement each has in the product area of concern, and
➢the personal characteristics of the family members

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Marketing Strategy and Family Decision Making

Examples of products where the actual purchaser of the product differs from the primary user within a
household.
A great deal of marketing effort has to be directed toward nonusers of the product who are the purchasers.

6-28
Conflict Resolution

One study revealed six basic approaches that individuals use to

resolve purchase conflicts.
Approach Description
Bargaining Trying to reach a compromise.
Impression Misrepresenting the facts in order to win.
Management
Use of Authority Claiming superior expertise or role appropriateness (the
husband/wife should make such decisions).
Reasoning Using logical argument to win.
Playing on Using the silent treatment or withdrawing from the
Emotion discussion.
Additional Getting additional data or a third-party opinion.
Information

6-29
Marketing Strategy & Family Decision Making
➢Family Purchase Roles

➢Determinants of Family Purchase Roles

➢Conflict Resolution

➢Consumer Socialization and Marketing to Children

Tetra Images RD/Getty Images

6-30
Consumer Socialization

➢Consumer socialization is the process by which young

people (children) acquire skills, knowledge, and
attitudes relevant to their functioning as consumers in
the marketplace.
➢The family provides the basic framework in which
consumer socialization occurs
➢Understanding the content and the process of
consumer socialization.
➢Consumer socialization content refers to what children
learn with respect to consumption.
➢Consumer socialization process refers to how they learn it.
6-31
Consumer Socialization
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Stage Description
Stage 1 The period of sensorimotor intelligence (0-2 yrs.)
- behavior is primarily motor, sensory perceptions
- the child does not yet “think” conceptually, though
cognitive development is seen

Stage 2 The period of preoperational thoughts (3-7 yrs.)

- Characterized by the development of language and
rapid conceptual development

Stage 3 The period of concrete operations (8-11 yrs.)

- the child develops the ability to apply logical
thought to concrete problems

Stage 4 The period of formed operations (12-15 yrs.)

- the child’s cognitive structures reach their greatest
level of development, and the child becomes able
to apply logic to all classes of problems.

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Practical Implications for Marketers

Understanding Piaget’s stages helps marketers tailor their strategies to

match the cognitive abilities of their target audience.

• Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 yrs): Focus on sensory-rich experiences and

parental influence. Use bright colors, sounds, and textures.

• Preoperational Stage (3-7 yrs): Utilize familiar characters, simple

messages, and interactive elements. Engage through storytelling and
visual appeal.

• Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 yrs): Provide clear information,

comparisons, and tangible benefits. Encourage logical reasoning and
product demonstrations.

• Formal Operational Stage (11-15 yrs): Appeal to abstract thinking,

social identity, and future aspirations. Use complex messages, social
proof, and aspirational marketing.
Consumer Socialization
The Content of Consumer Socialization
Consist of three categories:

1. Consumer skills—are those capabilities necessary for

purchases to occur such as understanding money,
budgeting, product evaluation, etc.
2. Consumption-related preferences—are the knowledge,
attitudes (e.g., tea), and values that cause people to attach
differential evaluations to products (utilitarian vs status),
brands, and retail outlets.
3. Consumption-related attitudes—are cognitive and affective
orientations toward marketplace stimuli such as
advertisements, salespeople, warranties, etc.

6-34
Consumer Socialization
The Process of Consumer Socialization
Consumer socialization occurs primarily through family, as well as
through a number of avenues including advertising and friends.
Parents socialize their children through the following:
1. Instrumental training—occurs when a parent or sibling
specifically and directly attempts to bring about certain
responses through reasoning or reinforcement.
2. Modeling—occurs when a child learns appropriate, or
inappropriate, consumption behaviors by observing others.
3. Mediation—occurs when a parent alters a child’s initial
interpretation of, or response to, a marketing or other stimulus.

6-35
CASE
Relevant Metrics for Segmenting Insurance Customers ?