Religious Practices and Consumption Behavior: Why and How Christian Consumer’s Needs and Expectations in the West African Context are Crucial

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether religious practices in the African context can explain previously observed consumption behavior variation in the sector of beverages. This exploratory research is focused on the post-positivist epistemological posture. It is a mixed method approach with triangulation of research tools. The results indicate that religious practices and consumption behavior are strongly and sufficiently correlated. It is also found that age has a moderating effect on the relationship between religious practices and consumption behavior. The findings imply the application of a rigorous segmentation, creativity and innovation in the beverage market in order to meet consumers ’core needs and real expectations. There should be specific marketing intra-religious hyper-segmentation considerations by taking into account consumer’s age range and consumer’s religious sensibilities towards consumption. To the best of author’s knowledge, this exploratory research shows the relationship between religious practices and consumption behavior in the West African geography with some different factors that have some effects on consumer’s choices and purchasing decisions.