Team-BHP - Does peer pressure influence our buying decisions?

Influence of Peers on buying decision is good but not when it is "peer pressure". I mean if you buy something just to compete/show-off/satisfy your ego I would call that peer pressure. But look at the positive side with this example:
I'm in the market to buy something, I ask around in my peer/friend group and find people owning and using different competing products - I now have the opportunity to try the product first-hand as well as get their feedback on the product and ownership experience.
Much-like car ownership reviews here on TBHP - honest, first-hand experiences - these will definitely influence your decision making in at least a small way. :)

There is always going to be peer pressure , part of many things not just buying a new car. It helps to be a BHP-ian because when someone tell's me how wonderful their car is over mine then i can rattle of enough things which are a problem with theirs :)

And secondly , never given in to pressure either - if i had i would have not ended up with either my Fabia or my T-Jet.

Yes. It does influence. In concept, we all would have heard of word of mouth advertising. Many businesses floats the statement - 'if you are happy, tell others ; if not, tell us' .

Don't we hear the statements like below in our work places-
a) Hey its a good movie. you must watch
b) My son used to always cry when we go out. but after we changed the diapers brand, he doesn't cry.
c) Hey i picked up a new car..
d) We all are going out for dinner / movie. you also come na
e) I am looking to buy a plot ; getting one at a good rate!
f) did you hear - that guy bought a new flat
g) Who uses text messages these days! I am on whatsapp.
h) I am applying for these universities

All these statements trigger thoughts (big / small) in our minds; echoing gently, telling us to follow them and trust in others decisions. In that process what are we doing? we are now convincing ourselves to buy that product or service. Suddenly you feel 'why am i left out' am i missing something', even i want it. we start thinking - 'i think i need to upgrade to smart phone'
If someone says "dude! here promotions are given to those who dress well; that's all" . Next weekend you will be in shoppers stop / lifestyle looking to replace your wardrobe.

Note: Its intentionally that I have tried to bring in examples other than cars where we get influenced by others.

A classic example that's happening in my office this very moment. A colleague of mine bought a D segment car recently and when he was in the process of shortlisting cars this other person kept making fun of the need to buy a rather expensive car. But anyway he went ahead and bought one and now this other colleague is contemplating on only a D segment car and wants nothing else.

In a corporate world I can tell you openly that people get judged by what kind of cars they own and this is a reality.

You can also attribute it to Herd mentality. Another trend that I see in my office is that most mid level managers seem to have an i20 and the next level folks by default seem to have the Honda City. No doubt they are good cars and they sell in good numbers, but at times it looks like everyone's trying to make an impression that they are no less or wanting to display that they are at par with their peers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunil8089

Recently you noticed the security-wala in your office is giving better respect to your friend than you (even though you are in a better position).

When the iPhone debut-ed in India (the first version), one of the first persons to own one in our office of 300-odd IT folks was the security-wala.:D Seriously. He had one of my colleagues buy for him an unlocked iPhone from the US. I don't know his salary, but I can safely assume that at that time it was less than what the phone cost. I think I had a SE810i or some such phone then. So here should I "take on" pressure not from my peers but from a level below (financially) and try to upstage him by buying a costlier phone ? Pointless IMO. He aspired for it and was willing to take a financial risk to own one, while I could easily afford one but did not find it aspirational (still don't). I change phones when the current one conks off and it is usually a basic phone.

Peer pressure in terms of material things could be a serious concern when young (to be part of the group etc), but once we grow up, I think we need to be mature enough to make out that in the long run, these things don't matter.

IMO With car purchase decisions, a large section of people are definitely giving in to peer-pressure rather than rationale.

Proof : Every month I wonder who are those (20-30k) people choosing Alto800 over the Nano!

But then man is a social animal, our happiness is not through materials alone, its through the happiness & pride of our loved ones. And widespread social validation helps them feel that.

This is where BRANDING comes in. If you are capable of creating a favorable hype around your product, it gets accepted by a massively large section of people.

Since Indian society also gives very good weight-age to merit/specifications/design, other sellers would also survive.
(And then there are people like me who're personally not very much for Inorganic & Manipulative "Branding".)

Personally, nope. I buy whatever I want. I'm neither price shy nor brand shy. As long as I know the product is good in terms of specs & the company is committed to service the product well (not necessarily the kind of brand that has a crazy number of service centers across the country waiting like vultures to 'serve' you), then I'd seriously consider the product.

I bought my pre-worshipped Linea MJD especially because :
a) The car was in great condition (including mechanically), love the design & ofcourse the price was mouth-watering.
b) I knew I would personally be able to somehow get decent service from FASS in Bangalore.

Interesting and relevant thread !
I have not felt much peer pressure in life so far fortunately but yes its present everywhere and with kids and females, it shows more and men are expected to behave maturely as compared to the other two but sometimes they also give in to that.
As others have pointed out it is not the main criteria for buying decisions but definitely is one of the important factors influencing the buying decisions. It is kind of additional reason which pushes you to buy/or not buy certain product and adds to that feel good factor after taking the decision.

Lastly, honestly I don't think we will get many (or any) responses openly admitting they've bought their car under peer pressure as no one would like to admit here on open forum but yes who doesn't give up under peer pressure would proactively post here.:D

Very Very Relevant thread!!

I had a 2008 Accent in 2013. Done around 50K kms. Factory installed CNG. I got so frustrated with the daily 20-30 minutes of waiting for the CNG that I exchanged it for a new car. Started off from a Swift Zdi ( I wanted a car with airbags plus ABS) and lated on ended up with an XUV 500. I would say a bit of it was attributed to peer pressure( or Sales pressure) but I am a happy individual. Some things are beyond money. The salutation that you get from the security guy in your building can be worth a million. The envious look from your peer/boss can lead to a broad smile. I think, this is very subjective. So I spent the moolah. My boss, who is at least 10 years older to me still drives in a Wagon-R. Different perceptions,different view of life, I agree:

Did I overspend? Yes I did.
Am I happy? YES!!stupid:

Will I do it again ? Surely, yes !!

When buying anything, one ideally should buy according to one's needs, wants, aspirations and of course, ability to afford the item or at least be able to repay a loan taken for such item, in a comfortable manner.

I don't think it is worth being influenced by peers or anyone else, other than for advice and feedback.

At the end of the day, one needs to be sensible about these things and know ones limits.

People are wired differently.I for one don't bother what my peers are driving. I am happy with my current car and unless there is a requirement for a bigger car, I don't see why I should upgrade.
People who report to me at work, drive cars from a segment above my car's, but that doesn't impact me in any way. I admire their decision though.
I think folks from the south are humble people who go about their life not much bothered about what others do/buy. I thank my parents for the same.

If some one respects you more if you drive in a BIG car, he is respecting your money and status not you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shankar.balan (Post 3558391)

Agree but there's the other element - of making a "safe" choice.

Like chakri says - it takes guts to buy a fiat! whereas everyone will support
buying a swift. Even in 2008, when I was gung ho about the palio, my mother in law also asked why I was buying a palio and not swift!

Just as so many SLR buyers buy a Canon because their friends have one - not that they ever end up borrowing lenses in most cases, anyways. (atleast as of a couple of years back).

I do not budge to Peer pressure on any depreciating asset - be it a car, white good or electronic gadgets. I still have a 8 year old swift D, 10 year old TV and a 12 year old washing machine which runs perfectly well for my requirements and has not given me any problems or broken down. Yes I do tend to budge on peer pressure if it is an appreciating asset like real estate or stocks and bonds. This has helped me a lot in making me a self sufficient contended person who has ZERO Debt.