Abstract
This research-based chapter examines the factors influencing (cultural, social, personal, and psychological) the buying behavior of Kazakh women in purchasing cosmetics and the influence of marketing mix elements. The researchers used a self-administered questionnaire to collect the data after checking the reliability and validity using Cronbach alpha and KMO tests. The gathered data was coded and decoded using Microsoft Excel and the language R. The selected hypotheses were analyzed by using the Kruskal-Wallis hypothesis testing technique. The study reveals a multifaceted understanding of the factors that shape the buying behavior of Kazakhstani women in the cosmetic industry. The growing concerns regarding self-appearance and the increasing scale of the cosmetic market give customers more options for skincare and beauty products they can buy in-store and online. Finally, the corporate sector will introduce computational marketing decision-making based on identifying factors influencing Kazakhstan women's cosmetics consumers to win the target market's hearts.
TopIntroduction
The globalization effect, the prosperity of e-commerce, and the highly competitive intensity existing in most industries have changed the role of customers in the trade chain. The enormous quantity of goods directed to satisfy the exact needs or wants, the variety of shopping malls and outlets offering the same service options, and the availability of multi-component products have supported the predominant customer bargaining power and made efforts to make customer choices more influential than ever. Brands have implemented incredible commercial campaigns, used direct marketing, and forced social media advertising to create distinctive advantages in customers' minds. Customer orientation has become an indispensable direction for survival in the competitive era (Potluri & Mangnale, 2011). The market and company management's focus has shifted toward exploring customer behavior and the factors influencing this phenomenon. Generally, buying behavior is the process and patterns of customers to decide which products or services to buy. Numerous factors, such as individual preferences, cultural influences, social standards, marketing analysis, and the overall consumer experience, predispose the customer's behavior. Those factors influencing customer behavior can be divided into cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors (Solan, 2020). There are subgroups for better recognizing the driving force of the customer decision.
Moreover, fierce competition between companies is associated with one or a combination of four marketing mix variables: products, prices, sales channels, and promotions. The marketing mix is a collection of manageable marketing elements that a company employs to elicit a specific response from the intended market (Khan, 2014a). Companies have strategically implemented the 4Ps to create strong customer relationships and foster brand loyalty. The product's appeal, pricing strategy, distribution convenience, and promotional efforts have had equal importance and influence on customer perceptions and purchasing decisions. Kumar (2005) has stated, “The cosmetics market is a significantly vital industry, not necessarily in terms of its contribution to global GDP but by its striking influence on the colorful social lives of humans globally.” Makeup is more than simply a way to enhance natural beauty. It's mostly about self-expression, increasing self-confidence, and following society's beauty standards. The cosmetics market is one of the most in-demand, as the industry's potential is driven by the number of working women and the awareness of appearance among millennial women. Women have achieved economic self-sufficiency and have become a large proportion of the customer society, which intends companies to specify their products toward the preferences of a new target audience (Potluri et al., 2014). Kazakh women and other women in different parts of the globe use makeup to enhance their natural beauty and express their individuality. In Kazakhstan, cosmetic and personal hygiene products were estimated at $526.35 million in 2015, an increase of 3.4% compared to 2014 (Ibraeva, 2017). Currently, the cosmetics industry is the largest segment, reflecting the population's needs. Foreign companies have been operating in Kazakhstan's cosmetics market for a long time, which complicates customers' adaptation to domestic production. However, local manufacturers' gradual introduction of cosmetics and personal care products is still occurring, driven by the lower price offerings, especially considering that most consumers prefer products from the middle price segment. There are 34 manufacturers of perfumes and cosmetics registered in the country. It is noticeable that they occupy a small part of the market due to the high level of competition and the trends in customer preference for foreign products. Analyzing the variety of factors influencing the purchasing behavior of Kazakh women in the cosmetics industry will allow for an understanding of how buyers are most likely to respond positively to the offering and make appropriate marketing strategies to suit target groups. This study aims to identify the factors that influence the purchasing behavior of Kazakh consumers in the context of the Kazakh cosmetics market. This study investigates the effects of cultural, social, psychological, and personal factors that contribute to the decision-making process of Kazakh women when choosing cosmetic products along with the marketing mix elements like product, price, place, and promotion related to factors and the role of computational marketing manifestly discussed in the chapter.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Cultural Factors: The basic set of values, traditions, beliefs, attitudes, and taboos that influence the close group of individuals and subcultures, viz., religious, racial, geographical, and nationality groups.
Social Factors: Humans are social beings who live around many people who influence their buying behavior. Humans try to imitate other humans and wish to be socially accepted. The most common social factors influencing consumer behavior are family, reference groups, and roles and statuses played by individuals.
Consumer Behavior: The actions and decisions that people or households make when they choose, buy, use, and dispose of a product or service.
Computational Marketing: Computational marketing is a field of marketing in which marketers use the power of computing to create the best marketing strategy and deliver the best and most compatible information to a particular consumer.
Marketing Mix: The controllable elements or variables are the “Four Ps,” viz., Product, Price, Place, and Promotion, that influence the buying behaviors of the markets.
Personal Factors: Factors that are personal to the consumers influence their buying behavior. These unique factors differ from person to person, thereby producing different perceptions and consumer behavior. The most widely influenced personal factors are age and life-cycle stage, gender, family size, education, occupation, lifestyles, race and religion, and many more.
Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior: Elements influencing the buying behavior of individual and household consumers purchasing.
Psychological Factors: Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Psychologists actively study and understand mental processes, brain functions, and behavior. The common psychological factors influencing consumer behavior are motivation, learning, perception, beliefs, and attitudes.
Women Consumers: Women consumers are the female individuals and households who purchase goods and services predominantly in six industries, viz., food, fitness, beauty, apparel, healthcare, and financial services.