Affection of consumers buying behavior in Pakistan.

• Author: Kazmi, S. Kamal Hayder

Byline: S. Kamal Hayder Kazmi

International researchers revealed that the consumer behavior starting from knowing about the product and ending in actual purchase; is determined through various factors. Many studies on factors affecting consumer purchase behavior of many products are obtainable. However, relatively less research has been attempted on consumer purchase behavior of foreign goods and still less research has been done in relation to Pakistani consumers. It is also identified that certain factors like reputation of country of origin, brand image and the relationship of the country with the foreign country from where products come are particularly important. It may seem tempting and more attractive and useful to compare consumer purchase behavior for domestic and foreign products.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) 2017, about 97 percent of its total population of 207,774,520 inhabitants is Muslim. By 2030, the population of Pakistan will reach 245 million, an increase of 29.6 percent from 2015 and it will be the sixth most populous country in the world in 2030. During July-April 2018-19, the higher income group experienced higher inflation as it calculated at 8.4 percent and lower income registered at 4.9 percent as against to 4.4 and 2.7 percent respectively, of last year. The combined income group experienced 7.0 percent as compared to 3.8 percent previous year.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is constructed for five income groups (a) Upto Rs.8000 (b) Upto Rs.8001-12000 (c) Upto Rs.12001-18000 (d) Upto Rs.18001-35000 (e) Above Rs.35000. According to PBS report, inflation surged by 11.4 percent yearly in September. Inflation, measured through CPI, edged up by 0.77 percent over the last month after PBS revised its calculation methodology. Based on the new base year (2015-16), September inflation came in at 11.37 percent as against to 10.49 percent in the last month. Going by the old base year of FY2008 that was being used until 2-month ago, the key inflation index comes in at 12.55 percent for September, explaining a 0.92 percent raise over the month of August.

Statistics showed that lowest CPI was recorded in July at 8.4 percent which increased to 11.37 percent in September. Furthermore, the urban CPI covers 35 cities and 356 consumer items while rural tracks 27 rural centres and 244 items. The former increased by 11.6 percent yearly in September whereas the latter jumped by 11.1 percent. IMF has predicted that...