The role of religiosity in consumer decision making

While consumption was an action covering only the physiological and basic needs that were necessary for the continuation of life in the early periods of history, it has changed and transformed over time and has become a concept that includes many different needs and desires. Thus, it is necessary to deal with the socio-psychological aspects of consumer behavior as well as physiological aspects. Religion, on the other hand, by offering a life order to the individual with its rules, affects all of the individual's behaviors. Therefore, religion and religiosity are determinants in consumer behavior. This study examines the role of religiosity on the consumer decision-making process. The study has been prepared in quantitative research desing. Shopping malls in different districts were preferred in order to diversify the socio-economic levels of the participants. The sample consists of 303 participants, 216 of whom are women and 87 are men, who are located in six different shopping malls (Akasya, Canpark, Meydan, Zeruj Port, Avlu34, Kanyon shopping centers) between November 2019 and January 2020. The average age of the participants is 30.7. The research data were collected by questionnaire technique. In the questionnaire form, the Consumption Dynamics Scale with 16 items developed by İnce and others in 2018 and the Religiosity Scale with 9 items developed by Ayten in 2012 were used. The data obtained were analyzed with Pearson Correlation, One Way Anova and independent group t-test methods with the help of SPSS program. The findings obtained from the study showed that religiosity does not have a decreasing or increasing effect on general consumption trends, but it has a negative effect on wasteful consumption and conspicuous consumption, which are sub-dimensions of consumption trends, and a positive effect on religious priority consumption. Even though the participants are generally similar in consumption behavior, they behave differently according to their level of religiosity regarding the form and quality of consumption. In addition, there were significant differences in religiosity and consumption trends according to demographic variables. One of the striking findings is that working status does not have a differentiating effect on consumption in the analysis results and that married individuals stand out in the general consumption dimension and the conspicuous and wasteful consumption sub-dimensions.