A Study on Buying Decision of Consumers towards White Goods in Karur Town

A large number of purchase decisions are influenced by a person’s interaction with his family, friends, relatives and acquaintances. There are distinct roles in the family decision process, and to effectively market the products, marketers must identify who makes and has input into the buying decision. This study is an attempt at understanding the roles played by family members and the social influences in purchase of consumer durables viz., Refrigerator, Washing machine and Air conditioner. It studies if there are variations in product in the family buying roles and also identifies dealers’ understanding of these roles and social influences. It was found that for refrigerator and washing machine the demand was initiated and influenced mostly by women. The study also revealed that although the demand was initiated and influenced mostly by children and female members of the family, the final decision and payment was done mostly by male members. This indicates that even today our society is a practical one. Further, this study explores dealers’ understanding of these influences and ascertains the extent to which it is congruent with the actual consumer behaviour.