Profiling Consumer Decision-Making Styles and Consumption among Young Adult Consumers in Northern Cyprus: From Marketing Communications Perspective

In the ever increasing competitive environment of today’s globalized markets due to shifts and changes on determinants of satisfaction, identification of consumer motives towards marketer’s desired section is crucial. Whether actual need recognition or a different purchase decision approach is more dominant, it has to be identified through isolating its individual drives and thus bringing about the essence of marketing communication. The aim of the study is to identify and understand the relations between the consumer decision-making styles, materialism values, symbolic consumption and marketing communication tendencies of young adults who live in Northern Cyprus, particularly during the purchases of apparel goods. Hence, this study focuses on quantitative research. The survey method was used to explore constituents of purchasing decision formation. Two scales and many variables were designed to understand the current situation in Northern Cyprus. These two scales were used to explore the situation considering Sproles & Kendall’s Consumer Style Inventory (CSI) and Richins & Dawson’s Materialism Scale and in addition to these marketing communication and symbolic consumption oriented questions were also prepared. Through exploratory factor analysis, eight main categories were identified as; Perfectionist, Brand Conscious, Confused by Over Choice, Recreational, Fashion Conscious, Happiness, Symbolic Consumption (Prestige/status) and Marketing Communication oriented styles. Also, the correlation analysis has helped to understand the statistical relationship between these factors. Then, the cluster analysis with ANOVA was used to categorize these eleven factors under three segments which are identified in the study as Status Seeker-Fashion Conscious Consumer (1st cluster), Survivor Function oriented Consumer (2nd cluster), and Brand Conscious Status oriented Consumer (3rd cluster) clusters. The findings in the study prove that, Status Seeker-Fashion Conscious Consumer clusters were being %31 (N=201) of the participants and Brand Conscious Status oriented Consumer cluster being %37 (N=235) of the participants. Since Survivor Function oriented Consumers were presented by %32 (N=209), these are the least affected ones by marketing oriented messages and symbolic consumption tendencies. The 1st and 3rd clusters are more affluent to be considered as targets for efforts of marketing communications and symbolic consumption as they are more prone to consume and purchase under influence of these messages and symbolic motives rather than solid functional needs. Keywords: Consumer Decision-making Styles, Symbolic Consumption, Marketing Communication, Factor Analysis, Cluster Analysis