Well, i would start with answering the question - who is the consumer of the product, or whom We want to be our consumers... Then I would find out which data really corespond to the consumer behaviour since there is always a tendency to analyse everything. As the 3rd step I would invite colleagues, partners, even consumers to help you categorise the information you have into clusters best describing your consumer. Finalise with the short report whis data are useful, which are not. Consider this crowdsourcing and cooperation within your company. This is what really works for me. Good luck. Wil keep my fingers crossed.

Adam

Dear Adam thank you for your answer. I'm stuck just in the first step that you stated, because my intention is use the data to describe the consumer and his patter (if any) of consumption. Do you have an indication of reading to detail the method, including statiscal methods, you suggeted?

In order to deal with large number of variables, factor analysis should be very helpful. However, I've used exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis only for cross sectional data. You may need further treatments before applying factor analysis to time series data.

I advise you to use data panel methodology. It is useful when you have many variables and many observations. How many observations do you have?

Hello Ramon,

Perhaps you could experiment with data mining methodologies. Data mining is a particularly useful approach when you want to identify particular groups or segments of data and I feel that it could prove quite useful for your project. Given that your intention is to identify customer behavior, I believe that data mining methodologies could allow you to do just that.

The study of Consumer Behaviour is quite complex, because of many variables involved and their tendency to interact with & influence each other and the buyer. These variables are divided into two major sections that have been identified as the most important general influences on Consumer Behaviour. Imagine three concentric circles, one at the outer-most, one in the middle & one at the inner-most, and they represent the following :

1. External Environmental Variables Influencing Behaviour :

The external environments are the basic or specific influences which are represented by the outer-most circle :

a. Culture, and Sub-culture,

b. Social Class, and Social Group,

c. Family, and Personal Influences,

d. Other External Influences (which are not categorised by any of the above six), like political, statutorily, geographical, economical, religious environment, etc.

2. Individual Determinants of Behaviour :

Major individual determinants of Consumer Behaviour are portrayed in the middle ring. These variables are personal in nature and influence the way consumers proceed thro’ a decision making process regarding products & services.They are :

a. Personality & Self-concept,

b. Motivation & Involvement,

c. Perception & Information Processing,

d. Learning & Memory,

e. Attitudes.

3. The Consumer Decision Process : The inner-most circle denotes the consumer decision making process regarding products & services. These are basically the physical attributes of decision making process. The major steps are:

a. Problem Recognition

b. Information Search,

c. Evaluation of Application,

d. Purchase Decision,

e. Post-Purchase Behaviour.

(Source: home.kku.ac.th)