Is neighbourhood any longer a major influence on consumer behaviour?

An IJMR Lecture

Though data on previous purchasing will always dominate models which predict what consumers will buy, contextual information (age, gender, social class) continues to play a useful role in understanding the motivation of purchasing behaviour, particularly in markets where decisions are subject to social influences.

Academic social scientists have for some time recognised “the spacialisation of class”, whereby where people live, and who they choose to live among, becomes a more important marker of status and values relative to their occupation.

At the same time, data on the social media networks that people belong to has also established itself as a valuable discriminator, social media now representing an important source of social influence, in some markets perhaps a more important form of influence than networks based on geographical proximity traditionally captured by geodemographic classifications.

The purpose of this talk is to re-assess the roles of geography vis-à-vis social class and social networks in influencing and enabling the measurement of consumer attitudes and behaviour.

Time:

6:00-6.30pm: Registration and refreshments

6.30-7.30pm: Lecture

7.30-8.30pm: Drinks and networking