However, this research could not answer that the factor influencing lower middle income people to buy a smartphone is influenced by the society, famous people using smartphones. Statistics show that people with lower middle income make up a high percentage of the population in Thailand, which is 41.4%, the percentage of Thais by average total monthly income, the whole kingdom: 2011 is shown below. People with lower middle income are a group of people who are limited to buy necessary or unnecessary products and services.
This research focuses on "what factors influence lower-middle income people's decision to purchase a smartphone?".
Research Objectives
Research Scope
Expected Benefit
LITERATURE REVIEWS & PROPOSED FRAMEWORKS
Theoretical Foundation & Hypotheses Development
Consumer Behavior
Brand
A brand is not just names and symbols, but can distinguish one company from others (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). A brand is one of the main components that customers consider before deciding to purchase a product or service. it can change customer perception in terms of thinking, changing feelings or expression, and a brand can also establish good or bad relationships between companies. Furthermore, brand equity is the most important asset that a brand owner is trying to create; that is, the brand has value in the minds of customers.
These components influence how the consumer makes a decision to purchase an item. by Telenor Asia Pte Ltd. 2013), Show that Thai customers emphasize smartphone brands is the most important factor when compared to the other 18 factors.
Brand positively correlated to a probability of lower middle income consumer to buy a smartphone
- Social Influence
- Price
- Product Features
- Distribution Channel
- Promotion
The price of a product is related to the cost of the product, so the price can represent the quality of the product, if the price is higher, the perception of the quality of the product is also higher, on the other hand, if the price of the product is lower, the perception of its quality is also lower, with the price the key concern and influence that people take before making a decision (Scitovsky, 1945). Price level has been found to have a positive effect on behavioral intentions mainly because price establishes a brand image in the eyes of consumers (Aaker, 1991). Customers are willing to pay more for the benefits of a product or service (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010).
The need tends to be reduced when the price of the product is higher than the acceptable range and vice versa (Dodds, 1991). Price is the critical factor that requires consideration with a limited budget for the purpose of purchase (Erickson & Johansson, 1985). Some of the customers perceive for a higher price because their perception focuses on high quality, image and status, however other customers against purchasing a product based on utilitarian value, as the customer relies on price perception, they may seek a lower price. prices to get the best value (Kunal et al., 2010).
Features are an attribute of a product to satisfy the consumer's needs and desires to own, use, and use a product that provides features including hardware and software (Kotler et al. 2008). For some product categories, there may be no differences between products, so the appearance of a product may differ from another and visually create customer satisfaction. Smartphone's main use and lifestyle preference are search, website, map, social network, apps, photos, music and video.
Distribution channel is a place for the exchange system of products or services with money, products, etc., which consumers can easily access. Based on the above literature, we hypothesized that the following factors may influence lower to middle-income households' decision-making to purchase a smartphone.
METHODOLOGYMETHODOLOGY
Research Setting
Sample & Data Collection
RESULTS
Demographic Data Analysis
- Gender of Samples
- Age Range of Samples
- Occupation of Samples
- Education level of Samples
- Marital Status of Samples
In Table 4.3 there are employees; represents 86.4% of the total samples which are included by 46 samples who have age group 21-30 years old and 11 samples who have age group 31-40 years old which this occupation is the majority of the samples in this study. The last occupational group is state official or state enterprise employee; represents 4.5% of the total samples. In Table 4.4 shows the Education levels of samples, there is Bachelor's degree; represents 84.9% of the total samples which are included by 49 samples who have age group 21-30 years old and 7 samples who have age group 31-40 years old, which this education level is the majority of the samples in this study.
Moreover, this study does not include the samples with primary school education and a master's degree. The total samples table shows unmarried status, included by 49 samples with an age range of 21-30 years old and 9 samples with an age range of 31-40 years old, with this marital status accounting for the majority of the samples in this study forms. Finally, the marital status group of samples who divorce or become widows; represent 1.5% of the total samples, the divorced or widowed group.
By providing 66 sample questionnaires and focusing on people who have income lower than 15,000 baht, buy smartphone and live in Bangkok and Vicinities. The analysis of the demographic data of the samples in this study has found that the majority of the samples are not significant in terms of gender, age 21-30 years, employed as employees, who have an educational level of Bachelor's degree and single.
The Result of Study
- Brand toward Buying Decision
- Social Influence toward Buying Decision
- Price toward Buying Decision
- Product Features toward Buying Decision
- Distribution Channel toward Buying Decision
- Promotion toward Buying Decision
The first question aims to measure the degree of brand factor towards the purchase decision of smartphone brand reputation samples. The second questions aim to measure the brand's degree of factor towards the purchase decision of brand longevity samples. The first question aims to measure the degree of price factor towards the purchase decision of the smartphone value samples.
The second questions aim to measure the degree of the price factor for a purchase decision of the samples on installment payments. We found that 62.1% of the total samples agree with that variety of smartphone price factors that influence their purchase decision. The fifth questions aimed at measuring the degree of the price factor for the purchase decision on budget for the purchase of smartphone of the samples.
The question aims to measure the degree of the product characteristic factor in the direction of the purchase decision of the samples. The first question aims to measure the extent of the distribution channel factor for the purchase decision of the samples on ease of purchase and convenience of smartphone. The second questions aim to measure the degree of the price factor for the purchase decision of the samples about product in stock.
The third questions aim to measure the number of distributors towards the purchase decision of the samples. We found that 78.8% of the total sample agree that many distributors of smartphone influence their purchase decision. The fourth question aims to measure the participant in case of distribution channel towards purchase decision of the samples.
The question is intended to measure the level of promotional factor for purchasing a smartphone.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
- Summary
- Contribution
- Managerial implication and suggestion
- Limitation
- Future research
Each person's level of education can help them think, gather information, analyze pros and cons, etc. If customers have knowledge about the product they want to buy, it can help support their decision-making. This research is studied to measure the factors that influence lower middle income people to decide to purchase a smartphone based on customer behavior theories.
As times are changing, thoughts, attitudes and behaviors will be adaptive; human needs are also changing. In order to provide smartphones that satisfy the lower-middle income people, smartphone companies need to know their current thoughts, attitudes and behaviors towards smartphones. From the research found that all factors such as brand, price, product features, distribution channel and promotion should be improved and developed in line with each other because there are many smartphone companies in the market, so customers have more choices.
If smartphone companies could influence and cater to the lower middle income people demand, then they could gain a competitive advantage to compete with the others. This limitation causes the researcher to have an insufficient sample size of samples to provide high predictive power. Second, the questionnaire method may not be able to obtain in-depth information about the thoughts and attitudes of samples.
To obtain more information about internal and external factors that influence the decision of lower-middle income people to purchase a smartphone, the samples should be collected from different groups of people in terms of occupation, age range, education level, status, and so on. Moreover, the questionnaires should contain enough questions covering each factor to obtain the exact information and accurate analysis.
Kinn Abass Bakon and Zubair Hassan, 2013, Perceived value of smartphone and its impact on deviant behavior: An investigation of Malaysian university students, FTMS College, Malaysia. Lim, Chee Thai and Chew, Jing Qun and Lee, Jia Howe and Loke, Wei Wen and Wong, Teik Kheng, 2012, Exploring Factors Affecting Smartphone Purchase Intention: A Study of Young Adults at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Perak Campus, Malaysia, Faculty of Business and Finance, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman. Mei Min, Chow1, Ling Hong, Chen2, Jian Ai, Yeow3, Pei Wah, Wong4, 2012, Concept Paper: Factors Influencing Smartphone Demand Among Young Adults., Faculty of Business and Law, Multimedia University (MMU) Modal , 2011 , The Purchase Decision Process, Retrieved March 14, 2014, from.
Adolescent brand awareness and promotional product placement: Awareness, liking, and perceived effects on self and others. International Journal of Consumer Studies. Telenor Asia Pte Ltd., 2013, Thailand people buy smartphones, brand is more important than quality, price and features, Retrieved March 15, 2014 from http://www.thairath.co.th/content/tech/386936.
APPENDICES
Appendix A
Survey Questionnaire has 3 parts
Demographics
Decision making
