CONSUMER BUYING PSYCHOLOGY AND BRAND PERCEPTION: INFLUENCE OF WORD OF MOUTH COMMUNICATION

Word-of-mouth Communication (WOM) has recently gained momentum in almost every operating industry in the world. WOM can be seen as a firms' intentional influencing of consumer-to-consumer communications about the firms' products. This study's primary objective was to determine whether there was any significant relationship between Word-of-mouth communication and Consumer buying behaviour specificity to the Indian cosmetics industry. The study was conducted with a sample size of 163 women, hailing mainly from South Indian cities, out of which Bangalore was predominant. The results of this study are to the Indian urban/metro population. The research eventually concluded a significant correlation between WOM and Consumer buying Behaviour, wherein consumer behaviour was measured in terms of Brand Perception, Search & Evaluation effort, and Risk Reduction. WOM's correlation with each of these aspects was positive and high, indicating a direct and strong relationship.