Effect of Religion on Selected Aspects of Consumer Behaviour: An Exploratory Study of Gujarati Consumer

Abstract

Human behavior is greatly influenced by various cultural forces. Among various cultural forces, Religion has been consistently recognized as an important social force in influencing human behaviour. Though the value of religion as a cultural-based predictor of consumer behaviour has been recognized widely, the research on religious influences on consumer behavior has not been adequately undertaken. This paper contributes to this area by exploring the effect of religion on consumer’s use of information sources and shopping orientation. Analysis of variance procedures is used to analyze the data. In this research, an attempt is made to investigate how consumers’ use of various information sources and shopping orientation can differ depending on their religious affiliation. Data are collected from Gujarati consumers in Gujarat. The finding reveals that consumers’ use of information sources and shopping orientation are affected by their religious affiliation.