Alex Cole 
The implications of consumer behavior for marketing [PDF ebook] 
A case study of social class at Sainsbury

Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2012 in the subject Business economics – Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: A, University of Canberra, course: MA, language: English, abstract: This particular research is aimed at finding the marketing implication of influence of social class on consumer behavior for Sainsbury. Social classes differ in respect of behaviors, attitudes, and preferences. To investigate the consumer behavior and social class relationship, triangulation methodology has been adopted. A sample of 75 consumers of Sainsbury has been selected through convenience sampling. A questionnaire has been designed to collect data from sample. The findings showed that most of the respondents belonged to middle and lower social classes. The research found that middle and lower classes spend major part of their income on food and necessities of life whereas upper class spends its income on luxuries. It has been found that upper class uses internet for getting information about products and services of Sainsbury. Middle class uses televisions and newspaper for getting information about products and services of company. Upper class has more intentions of online shopping as compared to other classes. Upper classes have more attitude of investing in profitable projects. It has been found that lower and middle classes use credit cards for shopping and take bank loans for fulfilling their needs. Marketers can identify needs and preferences of different social classes from results of this particular research. Research has been limited to the findings only which have been collected from a small sample.