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Consumer Behavior Courses Online

Explore consumer behavior principles for understanding purchasing decisions. Learn about psychological, social, and cultural factors influencing consumer behavior.

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Explore the Consumer Behavior Course Catalog

  • Status: Free Trial
    Free Trial
    I

    IE Business School

    Market Research and Consumer Behavior

    Skills you'll gain: Survey Creation, Surveys, Market Research, Business Research, Consumer Behaviour, Marketing Strategies, Research Design, Data Analysis, Research Reports, Market Analysis, Research Methodologies, Experimentation, Customer Analysis, Focus Group, Business Marketing, Decision Making

    4.4
    Rating, 4.4 out of 5 stars
    ·
    4.8K reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

  • Status: Preview
    Preview
    C

    Copenhagen Business School

    An Introduction to Consumer Neuroscience & Neuromarketing

    Skills you'll gain: Consumer Behaviour, Behavioral Economics, Decision Making, Human Learning, Customer Insights, Market Research, Business Ethics, Marketing, Advertising, Ethical Standards And Conduct, Psychology, Magnetic Resonance Imaging

    4.7
    Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
    ·
    3.5K reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

  • Status: Free Trial
    Free Trial
    J

    Johns Hopkins University

    Neuromarketing

    Skills you'll gain: Research Design, Science and Research, Laboratory Research, Research Methodologies, Research, Consumer Behaviour, Influencing, Marketing Psychology, Case Studies, Persuasive Communication, Statistical Analysis, Ethical Standards And Conduct, Data Analysis, Data Collection, Advertising, Behavioral Economics, Biomedical Technology, Experimentation, Neurology, Decision Making

    4.7
    Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
    ·
    21 reviews

    Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

  • Status: Preview
    Preview
    U

    University of Rochester

    The Power of Markets I: The Basics of Supply and Demand and Consumer Behavior

    Skills you'll gain: Supply And Demand, Market Dynamics, Economics, Consumer Behaviour, Resource Allocation, Cost Benefit Analysis, Market Analysis, Policy Analysis, Decision Making, Budgeting

    4.6
    Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
    ·
    271 reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

  • Status: Free Trial
    Free Trial
    C

    Coursera Instructor Network

    Improving Customer Retention

    Skills you'll gain: Customer Retention, Loyalty Programs, Customer Relationship Management, Brand Loyalty, Customer experience improvement, Customer Engagement, Customer Relationship Building, Customer Service, Consumer Behaviour, User Feedback, Marketing Strategies, Service Improvement, Personalized Service, Strategic Marketing

    4.7
    Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
    ·
    60 reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

  • Status: Preview
    Preview
    D

    Duke University

    Behavioral Finance

    Skills you'll gain: Behavioral Economics, Decision Making, Financial Planning, Finance, Consumer Behaviour, Financial Market, Financial Analysis, Economics, Psychology, Probability & Statistics, Risk Analysis

    4.4
    Rating, 4.4 out of 5 stars
    ·
    4.5K reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

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  • Status: Free Trial
    Free Trial
    U

    University of Pennsylvania

    Retail Marketing Strategy

    Skills you'll gain: Customer experience strategy (CX), Brand Strategy, Brand Management, Marketing Strategies, Customer Insights, Brand Loyalty, Brand Awareness, Market Trend, Consumer Behaviour, Competitive Analysis, Business Strategy, Innovation, E-Commerce

    4.8
    Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
    ·
    282 reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

  • Status: New
    New
    Status: Free Trial
    Free Trial
    U

    University of Colorado Boulder

    Sustainable Marketing and Consumer Trends

    Skills you'll gain: Sustainable Business, Corporate Sustainability, Environmental Social And Corporate Governance (ESG), Branding, Marketing Communications, Brand Marketing, Customer Engagement, Advertising, Regulatory Compliance, Market Opportunities, Environmental Issue, Environmental Regulations, Ethical Standards And Conduct, Digital Marketing, Engineering Management, Emerging Technologies

    Build toward a degree

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

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    F

    Fractal Analytics

    Behavior Architecture - Understanding Human Behavior

    Skills you'll gain: Case Studies, Decision Making, Human Learning, Applied Behavior Analysis, Behavior Management, Behavioral Economics, Human Development, Psychology, Critical Thinking, Empathy, Emotional Intelligence, Communication

    4.5
    Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
    ·
    51 reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

  • Status: Preview
    Preview
    W

    Wesleyan University

    Social Psychology

    Skills you'll gain: Social Sciences, Psychology, Persuasive Communication, Sociology, Behavior Management, Conflict Management, Interpersonal Communications, Research, Diversity Awareness, Ethical Standards And Conduct, Experimentation

    4.7
    Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
    ·
    5.1K reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

  • Status: New
    New
    Status: Preview
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    U

    University of Pennsylvania

    Creativity In Business and Other Disciplines

    Skills you'll gain: Creative Thinking, Creativity, Creative Problem-Solving, Brainstorming, Ideation, Innovation, Architectural Design, Problem Solving, Design Thinking, Entrepreneurship, Artificial Intelligence, Advertising, Marketing, Game Design, Consumer Behaviour, Experimentation

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

  • Status: Preview
    Preview
    N

    Nestlé

    Nestlé's Introduction to Marketing - with Abigail Laursen

    Skills you'll gain: Marketing Effectiveness, Global Marketing, New Product Development, Product Marketing, Brand Management, Market Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Marketing Analytics, Marketing Communications, Consumer Behaviour, Brand Strategy, Advertising, Marketing Strategy and Techniques, Media Planning, Market Research

    4.4
    Rating, 4.4 out of 5 stars
    ·
    12 reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

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In summary, here are 10 of our most popular consumer behavior courses

  • Market Research and Consumer Behavior: IE Business School
  • An Introduction to Consumer Neuroscience & Neuromarketing : Copenhagen Business School
  • Neuromarketing: Johns Hopkins University
  • The Power of Markets I: The Basics of Supply and Demand and Consumer Behavior : University of Rochester
  • Improving Customer Retention: Coursera Instructor Network
  • Behavioral Finance: Duke University
  • Retail Marketing Strategy: University of Pennsylvania
  • Sustainable Marketing and Consumer Trends: University of Colorado Boulder
  • Behavior Architecture - Understanding Human Behavior : Fractal Analytics
  • Social Psychology: Wesleyan University

Skills you can learn in Marketing

Market (economics) (28)
Social Media (15)
Marketing Strategy (14)
Analytics (13)
Brand (13)
Digital Marketing (13)
Marketing Analytics (11)
Plan (11)
Advertising (9)
Modeling (9)
Social Media Marketing (9)
Brand Management (7)

Frequently Asked Questions about Consumer Behavior

In marketing, consumer behavior is the study of how - and why - individuals and groups make purchasing decisions. These are the fundamental questions of the field of market research, as these important insights can drive business decisions into what products and services to sell as well as the best ways to sell them. And, while these questions aren’t new, researchers today have new tools to gain valuable insights into consumer behavior.

The migration of so much of our buying behavior to online platforms, from product research to comparison shopping to purchase and post-purchase reviewing, has created vast amounts of information for data analysis. Sophisticated customer analytics can harness this data to describe consumer shopping habits in great detail - and, when combined with regression analysis and other statistical techniques, predictive analytics can be created to forecast and influence future purchasing decisions.

The field of behavioral economics has also revolutionized the study of consumer behavior. This relatively new discipline combines economics with psychological insights into cognitive biases to better understand economic behaviors ranging from the decisions of individuals to global investment patterns. The emerging subfield of consumer neuroscience focuses on explaining buying behavior, creating opportunities for so-called neuromarketing approaches that leverage these insights to create more effective branding and advertising.‎

The study of consumer behavior is the principal concern of market research analysts, who are responsible for understanding what products people want, who will buy them at what price, and what type of marketing strategy can reach them most effectively. While traditional market research approaches have relied heavily on consumer focus groups and surveys, the new world of marketing analytics is increasingly demanding a strong understanding of digital marketing tools and data analysis techniques as well.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, market research analysts made a median annual salary of $63,790 as of 2019. These jobs are projected to grow much faster than the average across all occupations, as more and more industries and companies seek to gain a competitive edge by using data-driven market research approaches to better understand consumer behavior.‎

Yes, you can. Coursera offers a number of courses and Specializations on consumer behavior and related topics, including cutting-edge customer analytics and neuromarketing approaches. These courses are offered by top-ranked business schools from all over the world, including the University of Pennsylvania, Copenhagen Business School, and IE Business School. By learning online with Coursera, you can get a high-quality education remotely at a significantly lower cost than on-campus students - a combination that makes for an easy purchasing decision for a growing number of students as well as mid-career professionals.‎

The skills or experience you may need to already have before starting to learn consumer behavior include having a basic understanding of marketing strategies, the ability to grasp basic supply and demand concepts, and some knowledge about data analytics (consumer browsing and buying patterns, for example). You may also want to know a bit about how to develop spreadsheet modules to analyze data, evaluate risk, and optimize business decisions.‎

The kind of person who is best suited to learn consumer behavior is one who is interested in understanding, analyzing, and dissecting customer browsing and buying patterns to use for business purposes. A person who may benefit from learning consumer behavior is interested in what psychologists call “heuristics,” which are the mental shortcuts we take to make the choices we do daily. Someone who would be best suited to learn consumer behavior may want to research, extract, organize, and describe data to support business decisions, product launches, and product sales. In addition, the type of person who may be well suited to learn consumer behavior is interested in the emerging fields of consumer neuroscience and neuromarketing and how it is used in businesses. A person who works, or plans to work in a corporate setting, or who plans to be an entrepreneur or product designer may be well suited to learn about consumer behavior and what makes consumers tick.‎

Learning consumer behavior may be right for you if you want to continue on a career path in sales, if you want to understand the consumer decision-making process, or if you need to make managerial decisions by analyzing how consumers make choices. If you need to develop product marketing strategies such as viral marketing, develop a brand’s visual identity and benefits to customers, or learn to derive customer insights from sets of data, learning about consumer behavior may be right for you. In addition, if you would like to work in a global setting where you explore international markets and industries for new ideas or expansion, learning about consumer behavior may be beneficial for you.‎

Online Consumer Behavior courses offer a convenient and flexible way to enhance your knowledge or learn new Consumer Behavior skills. Choose from a wide range of Consumer Behavior courses offered by top universities and industry leaders tailored to various skill levels.‎

When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in Consumer Behavior, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here.‎

This FAQ content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

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