Consumer Behaviour
Summary
Consumer behaviour encompasses the decisions and actions of individuals and groups in acquiring, using and disposing of goods and services. It is shaped by an interplay of internal drivers—such as motivations, personality traits and attitudes—and external influences including social context, digital platforms and macro-economic trends. In recent years, research has probed how consumers navigate multichannel purchase journeys, the role of online social engagement in driving deep consumption and the ethical dimensions of purchasing. Key developments include the rise of mobile-assisted showrooming, the impact of personal and situational factors on channel choice, and evolving norms around sustainability, well-being and shared ownership models. Understanding these dynamics informs strategies for product design, pricing, distribution and communication that resonate with distinct consumer segments and across the entire experiential lifecycle.
Research from Nature Portfolio
A large-scale study of mobile-assisted showroomers in brick-and-mortar stores revealed that nearly half of shoppers oscillate between purchasing in store versus online, driven by ethical judgments of relativism and egoism. The findings illustrate how consumers’ moral orientations shape sales leakage and suggest avenues for retailers to reinforce loyalty behaviours through in-store engagement strategies.
Another investigation integrated Big Five personality dimensions with online social interaction measures to model deep consumption behaviour. It demonstrated that extroversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness positively influence purchase decisions and post-purchase engagement via mediating effects of social interaction, while neuroticism exerts a negative effect on decision making. This work underscores the importance of personal traits in tailoring digital touchpoints.
Research from all publishers
A systematic review of channel-choice determinants synthesised over sixty factors into five categories—perceived channel characteristics, customer needs, situational variables, individual traits and product attributes—and proposed a unified framework for omnichannel management. This roadmap guides retailers in designing adaptive channel experiences aligned with consumer profiles.
An empirical study of cross-channel impact by a digital-native grocery brand assessed the effects of opening physical brand stores on online and supermarket sales. Brand-store entry boosted supermarket listings and sales but cannibalised company-owned online revenue. When operational costs were included, top-line growth did not always translate into higher profits, highlighting the need for rigorous before-and-after analysis of channel investments.
A sustainability-focused review applied PRISMA guidelines to forty articles on information technology’s role in consumer behaviour. It identified four themes—technological diffusion, disruptive consumption patterns, IT-consumer choice interactions and the broader influence of digital innovations—and outlined future research avenues and managerial implications for e-commerce, social analytics and personalisation platforms.
Consumer Behaviour publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in consumer behaviour across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Showrooming: Consumer practice of inspecting products in a physical store before purchasing them online, often using mobile devices to compare prices.
Ombichannel: An integrated approach to retail that ensures a seamless customer experience across all available shopping channels, including online, mobile and physical outlets.
Big Five personality traits: A model in psychology that describes human personality using five broad dimensions: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.
PRISMA: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, a set of evidence-based items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
Cannibalisation: The unintended reduction of sales in one channel due to the introduction or expansion of another channel.
References
- Assessing the Multichannel Impact of Brand Store Entry by a Digital-Native Grocery Brand. Journal of Marketing (2023).
- Factors of customers’ channel choice in an omnichannel environment: a systematic literature review. Management Review Quarterly (2022).
- The mobile-assisted showroomer’s dilemma: where to buy? Actions to prevent sales leakage. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2023).
- Consumer personality, online social interaction, and deep online consumption behavior. Scientific Reports (2024).
- How Information Technology (IT) Is Shaping Consumer Behavior in the Digital Age: A Systematic Review and Future Research Directions. Sustainability (2024).
About these summaries
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