A survey on consumer purchasing behaviour towards clay-based cosmetics

Abstract

Clay is an amazing skin care ingredient that has been used by ancient civilizations for centuries. Today, it is being utilized in cosmetic industry to cleanse or reduce the amount of oil in the skin. All skin type can benefit from using clay-based cosmetics whether oily, normal, dry or combination skin. The cosmetic industry is one of the sectors with large consumers because people are willing to spend more money for healthy and radiant skin. Although clay-based cosmetics are less popular among consumers but the benefits of clay to the skin and the presence of innovative clay-based cosmetics in the market increases purchasing behavior among consumers. Consumer buying behavior refers to the study of customers including how consumer behave while deciding to buy a product that satisfies their needs. Consumer buying behaviour is very important in the cosmetic industry because the buying and usage of a product depends greatly on consumers' action while deciding to buy and their expectation of the product. This survey is proposed to identify general profile of clay-based cosmetics consumers and the factors influencing purchase. This survey was a cross-sectional study involving 300 students in Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, who were randomly selected and reached out through social applications to answer the survey questions. Obtained data was analyzed using SPSS and presented as descriptive analysis of frequency, percentage of total respondents. Factor analysis was used to determine main factor that influence buying behavior. The results show that the most influencing factor was for consumers' subjective norm followed by perceived behavioural control and attitude toward clay-based cosmetics. The significant relationship of gender and monthly income as demographic factor obtained can be related to the attitude and perceived behavioural control of consumers purchasing behavior towards clay-based cosmetics.