Peer influence on young adults’ products purchase decisions

Abstract

There are some people that an individual keeps in mind when making a purchase. Usually, such people disseminate opinions and other individuals are pressured into following their trend, becoming associated with them and using them as a standard of their purchase decisions. Such people are known as reference groups and they include entertainment figures, sports heroes, political leaders, parents, co-workers, teachers and peers. This paper seeks to contribute to the existing body of the literature on reference group influence. Specifically, it focuses on peer influence among young adults’ products purchase decisions. A convenience sample of 101 university students participated in this study. The results of Analysis of Variance and t-tests indicated that there is more normative influence for a public luxury (sunglasses) than for a private luxury (cell phone) and private necessity (toothpaste). Informational influence was also more for a public luxury than a private necessity. Additionally, a public necessity (shoes) had more normative influence than a private luxury and private necessity as well as a high informational influence than private necessity. Overall, these results demonstrated that the influence of peers varies across various product categories. Key words: Peer influence, product conspicuousness, reference group.