Essentials of Consumer Behavior

This thoroughly updated second edition of Essentials of Consumer Behavior offers a concise alternative to traditional textbooks with a practice-based approach.
Stephens emphasizes that consumer behavior does not simply equate to buyer behavior. She examines the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that shape consumers' attitudes and motivations in relation to brands, products, and marketing messages. The new edition of this concise guide to the discipline offers comprehensive coverage of issues including:
Technology now integrated into all chapters
Consumer vulnerability, expanded beyond young consumers and persons with disabilities to include the economically disadvantaged and those marginalized because of ethnicity and gender
Consumers' roles in the lives of nonhuman animals, with extensive discussion of the consumer journey toward acquiring an animal companion and the impact of pet ownership on consumers' non-pet-related purchases
Suitable for marketing and consumer behavior students at advanced undergraduate and postgraduate levels, this clearly written and thorough textbook will keep students engaged and help them to become savvier marketers. Online resources include links to videos and podcasts, further reading, questions, and exercises. Instructor supplements include PowerPoint slides and chapter quizzes.

Debra L. Stephens is Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Portland, USA. She has published in leading journals, including the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, and the Journal of Business Ethics.

Part 1: Fundamental Concepts in Consumer Behavior, 1. Introduction to Consumer Behavior, 2. Consumer Research Methods, 3. Why We Buy, 4. The Consumer's Journey, Part 2: How Consumers Create Meaning, 5. Memory and Priming, 6. Sensory Perception in a Consumption Context, 7. Sociocultural and Interpersonal Influences on Consumer Behavior, Part 3: Consumer Welfare, 8. Marginalized Consumers, 9. Children and Adolescents as Consumers, 10. Nonhuman Animals as Special Possessions, Part 4: Shifts in Technology and Consumer Values, 11. The Rise of Collaborative Consumption and the Sharing Economy