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The Effect of Gender on the Consumer Purchase Decision

Consumer behavior is the human thought and action involved when making a buying decision. It refers to the actions, reactions, and consequences that take place as the consumer goes through a decision-making process, reaches a decision, and then puts the product to use(CB3 4). As a field of study, researchers are collecting a body of knowledge that studies consumers as they go about the consumption process. In order for marketers to reach their target market effectively, they need to understand the factors that influence consumer purchases. Among many factors, gender plays an important role in the consumer purchase decision.

The meaning of the term “gender” can be controversial. In the 1970's researchers determined that the sex of person refers to the biology of that person. A person is either a man or a woman. Gender is a sociocultural category that refers to the way that men and women are socialized into male and female roles. Men and women are encouraged to act in certain ways, according to their culture. For example, in some cultures, the men are the breadwinners and the women are caretakers of the home. In other cultures, women go out to work and men stay home to take care of the children. Since, gender differences are the result of the influences of culture, it means that they are changeable (www.academia.edu). The expectations held about the characteristics, aptitudes and likely behaviors of both women and men (femininity and masculinity) that are learned differ within and between cultures. (paper-change) Although, gender has been a controversial topic in consumer behavior, both men and women do have different behavior patterns when making purchases. Consumer purchas...

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In conclusion, gender has a great effect on the consumer purchase decision. Men’s brains and women’s brains are built differently, which affects the way they make purchases. Women find enjoyment from shopping, and spend more time searching for information and making purchases. Men are mission-oriented, so they do not spend much time learning about products. They will make a purchase based on immediate satisfaction. A woman needs to feel emotionally connected to her purchases, whereas a man just needs ease of buying. Not only can purchasing decisions vary depending on the biological differences between men and woman, but also on the gender identity that a person chooses to be associated with. Men and women think and act differently when making purchases. Marketers need to understand the difference between genders, in order create effective marketing strategies.