An investigation on the effect of demographic features on the purchasing decisions in the context of behavioral economics: Malatya sample

The study was carried out in Malatya province in 2019. Descriptive screening method was used as the research method. The survey method was used for the study. The questionnaire was applied to 500 participants living in Malatya. For the analysis of the data, IBM SPSS 17 statistical package program was used. The items in the questionnaire were tested for normality and the items were found to have a normal distribution. The t-test was used to determine the relationship between the independent variables of the gender and marital status and the purchasing decisions. Anova test was used to determine the relationship between age, education level, monthly income, place of residence, number of children and occupation independent variables and purchasing decisions. Tukey was chosen from Post Hoc tests in order to determine the differentiation between the scale items. The results were presented in tables and interpreted. Many studies on the factors affecting the buying behavior of consumers are included in the literature. It has been tried to explain how consumers move away from rationality in their decisions and many studies on the traps affecting the purchasing decisions have been carried out so far. When these studies are examined, it is seen that demographic characteristics have a direct effect on purchasing decisions. In this study, it is aimed to examine the effects of some demographic characteristics on consumer purchasing decisions in the context of behavioral economics and compare the results with previous studies. In the light of the information gathered from the studies in the literature, gender, marital status, age, education, monthly income, place of residence, number of children and occupational variables were determined as independent variables. Key Words: Behavioral Economics, Consumer, Rationality, Consumer Behavior, Purchasing Decision