Theoretical and methodological approaches to studying consumer behavior

Consumerbehaviorisoneofthemainfactorsineconomicdevelopment. Consumerdemandstimulates economic growth and at the same time acts as an indicator reflecting the population’s standard of living and the quality of life. The purpose for the study is to analyze the main theoretical and methodological areas in the study of consumer behavior. Studies have shown that in the scientific literature there are several common approaches (economic, sociological, socio-psychological, marketing, analysis of consumer behavior in the context of behavioral economics) and a wide range of variants of defining “consumer behavior”. Thus, according to economists, the central aspect of “consumer behavior” is “the process of forming consumer demand for various goods and services based on consumers’ income and personal preferences”. The sociological approach states that consumer behavior is a social process driven by the actions of the operating social actors (consumers), interests, behavior and interactions of social groups and strata, and depending on specific historical and social conditions. The socio-psychological model represents consumer behavior as a special case of social behavior regulated by values, attitudes, moods, emotions, and cognitive processes of market participants. Marketing researchers consider consumer behavior as a set of actions related to search, selection, payment, and use of the product, and the consumer’s assessment of the correctness of the choice made. In our view, consumer behavior is a complex phenomenon and requires a comprehensive study from the point of view of economics, political science, sociology and psychology, marketing, economic theory and management. Amid market economy, the study of consumption issues needs to be supplemented with the approach from the social point of view and, above all, the population theory and demography.