CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

The course is designed to provide a strong foundation for critical thinking in the area of consumer behavior. Focusing on transition from a traditional economics-driven understanding of behavior towards a more subtle understanding, the course is based on recent developments in the consumer behavior area with special emphasis on psychological as well as sociological and cultural forces that influence the acquisition, consumption and disposition of goods, services and ideas. Most importantly there are some changes that have been materialized in consumer behavior in recent years, especially in the rise of the Digital Age (Gen Z and Y). These changes from the digital revolution include trends in how consumers research, how they recommend brands, and how they finally decide to make a purchase. One of the main drivers of the changes in consumer / shopping behavior, and consequently also in optimizing shopper marketing actions, is technology (smartphone). Technology plays today a role as the primary enabler of change in the evolution of consumer behavior. How Digital Disruption is altering Consumer Behavior

The purpose of this course is to answer to this key question and to discover:
(1) the concepts that can help us to understand consumer behavior
(2) how usage of technologies and the different strategies associated to new technologies in retailing can affect consumer behavior