Consumer Culture and Commerce

Introduction

Brief introduction about the chosen product

Halva from the Arabic word Halwa is a sweet confection dessert of two types. One is a gelatinous concoction consisting of flour and sugar, and the other is made from a mixture of tahini and sugar, which is heated and left to cool to form a type of bread that is crumbly(Moment, 2014). Halva’s origin has dated back to centuries ago- some believe it is from the 12th century while other scholars have said it dates back to 3000 BCE-with first reports in countries like Turkey, Lebanon, and India. However, this is highly contentious as almost every country in the Middle- East claims that the dessert is their dish (Spoon University, 2017).

Eventually, Halva was widespread across the Middle-East, Asia, and the Mediterranian. Every new location added some definitive flavours to their dessert version, making it slightly different everywhere. For instance, the Egyptians added pine nuts, almonds, and a Pistachio, whereas, in India, the dessert was seasoned with products locally available like ghee, dates, and coconuts. In Oman, almonds, rose water, saffron and cardamom are added. It is also the most known traditional dessert, as well as the national dessert in Oman. Therefore, it is expected to be bought and consumed in every household and restaurant in Oman (Middle East Eye, 2019).

Assessment

Assessment of the product based on consumer perception and attitude

Consumer perception

Consumer perception is the consumer’s awareness towards the company and the products it offers (Tieman, Ghazali & Van Der Vorst, 2013). In the food industry, it is tough to convince a consumer to purchase products from a vendor. It is not always about the sensory quality of the product or the physical characteristics of the product.

In Oman, Halwa is held in high regard. It is a celebratory dish at birth and weddings, graduation parties, and very famous during the Eid celebrations. Therefore, Oman residents are keen to get the best quality and safe Halwa. One company, Barka Factory for Omani Halwa, has specialised in producing quality Halwa for Omani residents and exportation to neighboring countries. The company boasted about its primary purpose of putting Halwa consumers’ interest first and making the best quality Halwa. They have stayed ahead of the industry’s competition by guarding their secret recipe for Halwa preparation closely. Barka Factory has since connected consumer perceptions to the success and longevity of its operations. To the factory, paying attention to consumer perception and attitude has created repetitive buying. No company in the world aims to sell products without meeting consumer needs (Sata, 2013).

The Sultanate of Oman has also made an immense contribution to improving consumers’ perception of Halwa by controlling new entrants and paying attention to safety in the line of production. It is now mandatory for new companies to obtain the necessary documents required before production. Reports by the times of Oman show that in 2019 two Halwa factories faced the consequences for not keeping health standards. Additionally, since the Halwa recipe involves mixing a lot of fats and sugar, which might be detrimental to personal health if poorly mixed, the Sultanate of Oman is closely following research that aims to replace the ghee use with natural oil.

Consumer attitudes, beliefs, feelings, and buying intention

The influence of customer attitudes, beliefs, feelings, and buying intentions is significant to a product’s buying or rejection (Annunziata & Vecchio, 2013). Research from the Global Consumer Insights found that the critical influences on food choices in 18 Middle-East countries are quality, price, taste, health benefits, and what the family wants. The results differed with each nation.

The table below shows the results as obtained from Oman

Choices	Percentage (%)
Quality	80
Price	52
Taste	43
Health Benefits	38
What the family desires	30

Table 1: Critical influences on choices of food

However, the same research done based on gender showed that males generally preferred great taste to every other factor, whereas females considered health benefits the most important thing.

The table below shows the factors that influence food choices based on different genders

Choices	Male (%)	Female(%)
Quality	50	68
Price	68	33
Taste	82	48
Health Benefits	43	75
What the family desires	35	52

Table 2: Choices made by different genders

The attitudes and beliefs of consumers towards Halwa during the purchasing phase was based on different elements like their experiences, knowledge of Halwa nutrition, the understanding of Halwa packaging labels e.t.c. For an average Halwa consumer, packaging is an essential attribute because it is the first sight for a consumer. The packaging of a product is proportional to most products’ direct sales (Rundh, 2016).

Duties of the manufacturer address a customer’s feelings and buying intentions. For instance, the nutritional information about a product is also a critical factor influencing the buying of products. Through directives, Oman has outlined the need to include the health table on the packaging of products. The nutritional table should be written in a language easy to understand, accurate, and straightforward. The amount of sugar, fats, and cholesterol should also be indicated to make consumers aware of what the potential effects of the products are, should they decide to acquire the product.

Participation

Participation of consumers in making purchase decisions

Consumers are involved in making purchasing decisions through the consumer decision-making process. The consumer decision-making process is when consumers identify what they need, gather information about what they need, identify other possibilities, and eventually make a purchasing decision (Kumar & Raju, 2013). Several aspects affect consumer behavior; economic and psychological factors influenced by social and cultural values are among the elements that affect consumer behaviour.

Consumers’ behaviour in making purchasing decisions is problematic as it starts when the consumers realise that they have a problem because of the lack of a product. The problem extends to after they purchase the products. Different consumers have different needs, which leads them to make diverse decisions while buying a product (Maniatis, 2016). The complexity of these decisions leads to an understanding of the decision-making process by consumers necessary.

Consumer decision-making process

This is a business model used by both marketers to identify and trace a consumer’s decision-making process from the beginning to the end.

Recognition of a need

It is the first step in the decision-making process. It is when consumers realise that they have a problem that needs fixing. An example is when a person is hungry and goes to a restaurant to eat. This happens after the person has identified the problem as hunger. With this example, other stages in the decision-making process are missing. The complete decision-making process is vital and applicable when dealing with complex decisions, e.g., buying a house.

The search for information

It is the second step in the decision-making process. The search for information changes continuously as the consumer continues to gather more information about products that can satisfy them. In this stage, consumers consider risk factors as many people don’t want to regret their decision later.

Search for information can be obtained from the following sources;

Personal sources– Friends and family who give data and advice about a product
Public source– This is mostly from print media, television, and radios
Commercial sources– This source is through products packaging, advertisements, and salespeople
Experiential sources– This is from the experience of a user with a particular product

Evaluation of alternatives

It is the third step in the decision-making process. It involves looking at the available options in the market and the lifecycle of the products. When consumers find what suits their problem, they will find the best option. Factors such as quantity, quality, price e.t.c are some of the aspects that contribute to the evaluation process. When a consumer compares the price of a commodity and evaluates it against the quantity offered and finds it fitting, they may decide on the product.

Buying Decision

It is the fourth step in the decision-making process. After the first, second, and third steps are passed, the customer is ready to purchase. This is when the consumer has made evaluations and settled for the right decision based on either personal or public influences.

After- purchase behaviour

It is the last step in the decision-making process. It involves ascertaining whether the product was useful or not. If a consumer is pleased with the product, they might influence others to get the product too.

Presentation and discusion

Discussion based on factors that influence the purchase decision

Marketing and sales teams look at consumer behaviour as an incomplete and unsolvable puzzle (Total Retail, 2020). Marketing and sales teams believe techniques such as offering discounts and aftersale services to entice consumers is enough. However, there is more to convincing consumers other than advertisements and promotions. Consumers are also smart as they have plenty of alternatives from all places globally; therefore, they don’t easily fall for tricky marketing deceits.

Marketers are finding it hard to find consistent ways to generate sales amid consumer behavior mystery. However, they are increasingly striving to understand consumer wants and directing their efforts towards that. Consumer preferences also have changed, and some new factors are influencing purchasing decisions by consumers.

factors that influence the purchase decision

Social proof

Consumers have long-established that` inaccurate advertisements to be the cause of poor decision making in their purchasing behaviour. Consequently, they have turned to consult each other for the best advice on products. Previous users of a brand have turned to brand ambassadors to new users, therefore influencing their decision.

Personal factors

Consumer demographics, e.g., consumers’ sex, age, and stage of life, influence consumers’ purchasing decisions. Men and women will buy different products (Sreen, Purbey & Sadarangani, 2018). Men are responsible for 40 % of alcoholic products, while women are responsible for 67% of all household purchases. The aged are responsible for 60% of all-natural foods as they want to maintain great health.

Psychological factors

Factors such as motivation, beliefs, learning, perception, and attitudes also contribute to purchasing decisions. Learning affects consumers’ behavior. After acquiring enough information about a product, they may want it or not want, e.g., consumers learning that canned foods can cause cancer. Some products may also not be in line with certain beliefs, e.g., pork products for Muslims

Social Class

The social class of people affects their decision in purchasing. People of the same social class tend to have similar tastes in their preferences. Eg., it is believed that rich people will buy Mercedes Benz more than other cars.

Cultural factors

People who grow in the same social and cultural setting will tend to make purchasing decisions based on the culture promoted by their social settings. These factors include religion, moral values, and traditional values.

Who influences them

Aside from these factors above, certain groups of people also influence decision making. These groups are;

The family

Research has shown that many people display similar purchasing behaviour as that of their parents. People will stick to buying certain products because they were introduced by their parents while growing up (Emerald insight, 2020).

Reference groups

These are workgroups, church groups, community groups that a person may be a part of. They influence consumer purchasing behaviour as people want to feel a part of the group by looking similar.

Opinion leaders

Opinion leaders are influential heads in certain groups, .e.g., when the local politician advises their supporters to avoid some commodities, it might affect some consumers’ purchasing decisions.

Conclusion

Summary and recommendations

Consumer behaviour is an essential topic for both marketers and the sales team. It gives companies the direction to take as they align themselves with consumer behaviour so that they may be able to satisfy their needs. However, understanding consumer behaviour has proven challenging to comprehend altogether, leaving companies to work with whatever piece of information about consumers they have. Additionally, consumers’ purchasing decisions are dynamic and influenced by beliefs, perceptions, feelings, and consumers’ buying intentions.

Since consumer beliefs are dynamic, companies should focus on intense market research rather than enticing customer methods. Companies should also understand and relate with the consumers on a personal level for them to focus their approach

Analysis

For a business to be relevant and have a competing edge, their primary responsibility should be to bring consumers on board. It is achieved by tailoring their products to meet consumer needs, understanding factors that influence consumer behaviour such as personal, psychological, and cultural factors.

References

Books and Journals

Annunziata, A. and Vecchio, R. (2013) Consumer perception on the buying behaviour: Journal of the food industry: Ed. 8^th . Tiden Forlag Norway. Pp 520-600.
Sata, M. (2013) How consumer attitude and beliefs affects sales. Vol. 5^th . Springer Science and Business Media Berlin Pp 70-105
Tieman, M. Ghazali, M. and Van Der Vorst, J. (2013) What is consumer perception and how it affects buying: The journal of Middle East Food industry: Ed. 10^th . Routledge UK. Pp 530-600.
Rundh, B. (2016) The weight of Packaging in marketing. Vol. 2^nd . Leeds Printing Press UK Pp 520-650
Kumar, D. and Raju, K. (2013) The role consumer decision making in purchasing. Vol. 10^th . Pearson–Prentice Publishers UK Pp 300-356
Maniatis, P. (2016) Factors affecting consumer decision making: Ed. 10^th . SAGE Publications Limited UK. Pp 129-150
Sreen, N. Purbey, S. and Sadarangani, P. (2018) How gender, age and stage of life influence purchasing: 15^th . Routledge UK Pp 99-150

Websites

Moment (2014) Halva dessert- The complete guide [online] Available from https://momentmag.com/halva-dessert [Accessed 12th November 2020]
Spoon University (2017) Where is Hava from? – The complete guide [online] Available from https://spoonuniversity.com/where-is-hava-from? [Accessed 12^th November 2020]
Middle East Eye (2019) Popular dishes in Oman- The complete guide [online] Available from https://www.middleeasteye.net/popular-dishes-in-oman [Accessed 12th November 2020]
Total Retail (2020) What consumers consider when making purchases- The complete guide [online] Available from https://www.mytotalretail.com/what-consumers-consider-when-making-puchases [ Accessed 12^th November 2020]
Emerald Insight (2020) Family influencing the consumer behaviour – the complete guide [online] Available from https://www.emerald.com/family-influencing-the-consumer-behavior [Accessed 12th November 2020]