Tis the Season to Follow Norms

As most of you know, it was recently Christmas! A day to celebrate with family and friends, feast upon turkey and sweets, spend quality time together and let’s not forget opening gifts. Some people realize that spending time loved ones is a much more significant gift than any material object. So why does our society continue to purchase gifts and consume more around this time of year?

This year I found myself not only getting gifts for my immediate family, but also for the family of my boyfriend. I started thinking to myself, yes I do enjoy their family and company, but why as consumers are we inclined to make purchases for people who may may not know well. One concept I learnt in university was about gift giving, more specifically about reciprocity norm.

Reciprocity norm is the feeling of obligation to return the gesture of a gift with equal value (Solomon 2014). For example, this year I knew my boyfriend’s parents were going to give me a gift for Christmas. I felt the obligation to present them with a gift when we would visit next for the holidays. In this example, even though I felt obligated to give them a gift, it was a pleasant feeling as I enjoy their company and have a friendship with them.

             Another example however is an old friend of mine who recently got in contact. In the past, we would send each other gifts in the mail since they live in the United States. In the past few years however, we did not exchange gifts and our friendship has since faded. This year however, they suggested we exchange gifts again and even though I have no idea what their preference of style is or interests are now a days, I sent a generic gift. This exchange also follows the concept of reciprocity norm, as I knew they were going to sending me something, so I felt obligated return the gesture. However, this time I felt more pressured and did not enjoy the experience of gift giving. This experience made me feel as though I am not a good gift giver, which reminded me of the video below. 

                So why in two different scenarios, one with people I enjoy and one with a long lost friend, did I feel the same emotions of obligation? One factor is strongly tied to the culture I have grown up in and been thought through (Solomon 2014). Though I do enjoy giving gifts to others, it is our society who tells us to consume not for ourselves but to give to others. This concept of reciprocity norm opens my understanding of why I am making purchases for others.  It has been established in my mind that when someone, or yourself, is presenting a gift to another, that there is a notion that it is the norm to return similar value to that person. 

Sometimes my boyfriend will surprise me with gifts with no need for a gesture in return, yet I always feel compelled to return the surprise and give a gift back.  That is just another of many example of reciprocity norm in action in my everyday life, not only for the holidays.

Do you feel like you owe someone back if they give you a gift? Or do you accept the gift with no intentions of returning the gesture? I am curious to know how others are affected by this concept.

References

Solomon, White, Dalh. "Consumer Behaviour ." 435. Pearson, 2014.

This topic (Reciprocity Norm) is in Chapter 14 - Interpersonal Influences

Buying on a Budget

I recently went shopping at a local grocery store to stock up on food. I typically look at flyers to see which stores have sales on items I usually buy, however this time I went without looking. I was surprised to see that I was able to get many items for a fraction of the standard price for some of the products. I am a student, so my disposable income is limited, however this trip made me realize and appreciate some of the positioning dimensions the grocery store used. These dimensions will be discussed below but first I will briefly describe the items I purchased, to help with the analogy of the positioning dimensions.

These photos show the purchases made and the price of each item. Seeing a total or $37.92 may not appear to show great savings considering the amount of items purchased. However, there were two items, the gingerbread house kit and the Tassimo coffee which were bought at full price, $9.99 and $8.99 respectively. Therefore, if I had not bought those two items, the total would be almost $20 less. Every other item was either on sale or was a reasonable price. For example, the margarine was on sale for $1, where a container can easily be over $5 at regular price.

There are six positioning dimensions for brands which include price leadership, attributes, product class, occasions, users and design (Solomon 2014). These concepts will be discussed with respect to the purchases made while grocery shopping. Positioning strategy is how the marketer want the product to be viewed in the eyes of the consumer.  They can use a variety of strategies to influence the perception of a product from consumers (Solomon 2014).

Price leadership is when a product is placed at a certain price in a certain location. The pork chops for example where a low price of $3.21 for the pack. If I were to have gone to a butcher shop, a purchase the same cut of meat or better quality pork would be available, of course with a higher price. In the store there were various cuts of pork all for different prices per kilogram; however as a student with a budget I was not fussy.  This is an example of price leadership because a consumer may assume that going to a butcher shop rather than a grocery store, will yield better quality meat since the prices are typically more per kilogram, even if the cut of meat may be equal or similar in quality.

Attributes are when a product is known for a quality or characteristic.  For example, as a younger child I would see television commercials for Mott's Fruitsation. These commercials were for various flavors of apple sauce and would either have young children enjoying the product or have intriguing movement of the product along with its jingle. See the video below for an example of a commercial that aired on television.  One of their messages was that it is a healthy snack with a serving of fruit per cup. Therefore, for myself Mott’s applesauce has healthy and fun attributes which lead me to make the purchase over no name brands for the same product.

Product class is when items are seen to fit a certain class or category. For example, on the shopping trip I purchased some vegetables that were on a separate discounted rack. Some of the items that are places here have been damaged or are expiring and are therefore put for a lower price than the fresh produce. I bought some peppers and zucchini, once again keep in mind I was shopping on a budget. However for some individuals, this would not even be considered as produce is typically affordable and has more nutrients and freshness even when purchased at full price. Therefore to some, the reduced rack can be associated with low quality and low cost. Individuals with lower income or those who are not aiming to purchase top quality produce would be the typical consumers of these products.

The ginger bread house I purchased is a good example of occasion positioning. This item typically comes out during the holiday and Christmas season. Due to traditions and availability, most consumers will not and may not even be able to purchase such an item during the summer. Therefore, this product is positioned to be a holiday treat. Not only is this a fun product for families and friends to create, but consumers may not be as selective when it comes to the price as it is a specialty item. Occasion positioning is a good positioning dimension for a company and product because if they can associate their good or service to a certain time of day, season or year, then consumers may be more willing to buy the product for that occasion.

You can ask yourself, will you buy a product at full price if it is for an occasion? 

The users positioning dimension could be explained with the Tassimo Maxwell coffee purchased. Tassimo is a single serve coffee machine. They are becoming quite popular as they offer many brands of well known coffee such as Maxwell, Tim Hortans and Second Cup (Tassimo 2013). This product is popular for individuals who live alone as they do not need to make a whole pot of coffee to get their fix in the morning. Although I could not find a specific user position for Tassimo, I have an opinion on Maxwell. Although I am a 20 year old student, I have always seem Maxwell as a coffee brand for older adults. Whether it was print ad or television ads I saw in the past, I never felt as though they were directed at me. See an example of a commercial below. So I believe Maxwell has a user positioning of men and women who are established and are family oriented. Therefore, this purchase does not aligned with what Maxwell's user positioning is, but they still got my sale! 

Design is a dimensions which suggests that the way a product is created and presented to consumers will determine its worth. We can take something as simple as the Green Giant. This brand provides various canned vegetables year round. I personally bought corn from the Green Giant, rather than the no name brands. There are some other brands like Unico, Dole and Yves which produce similar products. So although the design of the product itself fails to differ, the design of the brand and its image is what gives the advantage to the Green Giant. They advertise on television and paper ads very well compared to the others. They are proud to promote their methods of crop growing and harvesting and promote healthier lifestyle if you purchase their brand. To me the design of Green Giant is a classy, strong, healthy and reliable name. 

All in all a company can use one or many of these positioning strategies to get ahead in the market. I have seen first hand all of these dimension in play, whether they be from my shopping trip or shopping elsewhere. Which of the six dimensions do you believe is the most effective? Can you recall a time that one of the strategies has influenced your purchase?

References

Solomon, White, Dalh. "Consumer Behaviour ." 56. Pearson, 2014.
Tassimo. "Brands and Beverages." 2013

This topic (Positioning Dimensions) is part of Chapter 2 - Perception.