This module is concerned with what makes customers 'tick'. It explores how people make consumption decisions, their influences, and their implications for marketers. The module aims to provide specialised knowledge concerning customers within the marketing and social context.  Consumer behaviour is at the heart of the marketing concept, which involves organisations aiming to satisfy customers’ needs and wants to achieve their own goals. It is also important to understand how customers respond to marketing activities.

• Demonstrate understanding of the relevance of consumer behaviour to marketing strategy.
• Explore the contributions of concepts from the social sciences to an understanding of consumer behaviour and how consumers respond to marketing activities
• Apply theory and concepts to an understanding of consumer behaviour.          
• Identify the cognitive processes in which customers engage when processing information for the buying process and in how they respond to marketing activities.
• Analyse and evaluate the contribution of psychological concepts to understanding purchasing and consumption.     
• Explore social and cultural influences in the purchasing process.
• Demonstrate understanding of integrated approaches to exploring consumer behaviour         
• Demonstrate the ability to analyse concepts and theories, apply these to different contexts, and evaluate their applicability.

The module will be delivered through a mix of large & small group face-to-face sessions, including, where relevant, supporting digital learning activities and/or recordings.

• Apply appropriate theoretical perspectives to the analysis and solution of marketing problems
• Analyse and evaluate the contribution of psychological concepts to understanding purchasing and consumption 
• Communicate effectively and possess good interpersonal skill  
• Interpret interlinking of various consumer behaviour theories in understanding consumer behaviour

Assessment will be an individual assignment (40%) and an online test (10%) in the Autumn semester and an examination in the Spring semester (50%).  

The individual assignment is designed for students to critically reflect on contemporary issues on consumer behaviour by analysing, synthesising and evaluating current consumer behaviour theories and their applications to specific contexts and situations. The assignment is intended to achieve several aims, including developing the student’s capacity to carry out self-guided research for informing their own thinking on contemporary issues around consumer behaviour, critically evaluate the evidence found, formulate and structure their own evidence-based arguments,  improve their ability to analyse and summarize information and develop of their creative thinking and communication skills. The exam component focuses on assessing student’s ability to analyse concepts and theories and to apply these to different contexts and then evaluate applicability using examples and relevant literature sources. The coursework is designed for students to engage with the module material, consolidate their learning, and help them with structuring their ideas and finding their voices by gaining experience in organizing information and communicating ideas in a number of different ways. 

The opportunity for reassessment in this module 

The reassessment in this module will be done by failed component.

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR REASSESSMENT IN THIS MODULE:

Opportunities for re-assessment is only permitted provided you have not failed more credit than in the resit rule adopted by your programme.  If the amount of credit you have failed is more than permitted by the relevant resit rule, you may be permitted to repeat study if you are within the threshold set for the Repeat rule adopted by your programme.  You will be notified of your eligibility to resit/repeat any modules after the Examining Board in the Summer period.

All resit assessments will be held in the Resit Examination period, prior to the start of the following academic session.

The module is structured around three themes:    

• The consumer as an individual: the contribution of psychological concepts and theories to understanding consumer behaviour exploring how consumers’ cognitive and social processes operate and how consumers respond to marketing activities.  
• Social and cultural dimensions of consumer behaviour     
• Integration of theories and concepts within more holistic topics, seeking better insights into consumer behaviour