Consumer behaviour: From classroom concepts to real-world impact

Elaborating on the course that the marketing major participants take at SPJIMR, Prof. Sekhri shares that the course is designed to span the entirety of what is known from the discipline today, which includes consumer decision making, including various internal (beliefs, attitudes, motivation, personality) and external factors (how one’s family, culture and society impact decisions), heuristics and biases (the mental shortcuts we take without being aware of them), persuasion tactics, behavioural nudges, and tools of influence used by marketers, exploring consumer well-being and ethics, along with some recent trends and developments in the domain of consumer psychology.

1. Aug 28, 2025
Consumer behaviour: From classroom concepts to real-
world impact
SPJIMR Marketing and Communications Dept.Unpack what drives consumers to make choices by connecting behavioural theory and practice in marketing with Prof.
Sukriti Sekhri, Assistant Professor of Marketing at SPJIMR.
Elaborating on the course that the marketing major participants take at
SPJIMR, Prof. Sekhri shares that the course is designed to span the
entirety of what is known from the discipline today, which includes
consumer decision making, including various internal (beliefs, attitudes,
motivation, personality) and external factors (how one’s family, culture
and society impact decisions), heuristics and biases (the mental
shortcuts we take without being aware of them), persuasion tactics,
behavioural nudges, and tools of in uence used by marketers, exploring
consumer well-being and ethics, along with some recent trends and
developments in the domain of consumer psychology.
Consumer behaviour may run the risk of being con ned to only theoretical models in a business school. Prof. Sekhri
disrupts this by infusing more real-world understanding into her teaching. She observes, “An oft-repeated complaint
these days is that participants just can’t be bothered with real learning. They outsource their tasks to AI and put in
minimal effort. But I like to believe that this is not the case. The onus of participant learning also lies on us as educators,
as facilitators, to create and plan meaningful elements throughout our teaching that enable each participant to push
themselves beyond their comfort zone. Because it is only when an experience gives us a little nudge to put ourselves out
there that we grow and gain con dence in our own skills!”
Alongside the case study approach, which provides a  avour of what
real-world decision-making is like, she invited guest speaker Mr.
Prakash Sharma, Co-founder of the Bangalore-based consumer insights
consultancy 1001 Stories, to conduct a masterclass on ‘decoding the
consumer’. Sharma shared stimulating real-world examples – including
a math counting app for children, a milk biscuit brand from rural India,
and the psychological expectations from 10-minute delivery apps by
consumers across different regions – to illustrate behavioural science
Placing consumer behaviour in context outside the textbooks

2. applications across multiple products and domains.
PGPM participant Kumarjit Chakraborty’s LinkedIn post on the
assignment illustrates how, with the right encouragement,
participants push their boundaries and participate actively.
Kumarjit comments:
“Cognitive dissonance theory, a
concept introduced by
psychologist Leon Festinger, describes that uncomfortable
feeling when our actions don’t match our beliefs. Post-
purchase dissonance is a classic example, like the guilt we
sometimes feel after indulging in snacks that don’t  t our
health goals. Think about craving ice cream, but then
feeling guilty about the sugar. Or buying a cheap snack
loaded with arti cial ingredients, and regretting it
afterwards?…. Honestly, I did fumble a few times in the
In addition, he talked about interesting ideas, including the role of context in consumer psychology, and the ‘what
the hell effect’, to show that consumers are prone to biases and inconsistent behaviour. The theoretical concepts
being discussed in the course came to life through his talk, and it was gratifying to see the light in the participants’
eyes when they recognised the connection to real-world problems and managerial challenges.
To cement concepts of behaviour through experiential learning, Prof. Sekhri gave her participants a unique
assignment. Instead of the usual essay writing take-home assignment, she asked the participants to create a 90-
second video submission. The participants had to highlight a consumer behaviour theory or concept they learnt
about in the course and found fascinating, through a real-world example, bringing out a thought-provoking insight
for their audience. The video submission had to be uploaded on the participant’s LinkedIn or other social media
platforms (YouTube, WordPress, etc).
Prof. Sekhri shared, “It was heartening to see the participants slowly warming up to the idea of ‘putting themselves
out there’, as sitting in front of the camera and making a video, explaining an idea, is not an easy ask! From their
initial thought of the concept and example they wanted to explore, to conducting the necessary research, learning
more about the theories they were studying in class, and examining their real-world applicability, the participants
deeply engaged with their chosen topics as they crafted their videos and uploaded them online. You can search
#ConsumingBehaviour–which is what we are calling this series—and see the posts of the class on various
theories.”
From theory to practice: The #ConsumingBehaviour initiative
video, but I promised myself to do this in one go! Special thanks to my Prof. Sukriti Sekhri, for teaching
this brilliant concept.”
हाल  डेवडसन या बुलेट, आप िकसके दीवाने हो ?#shorts #facts #viral #ytshort #bullet #re…Share
Watch on

3. PGPM participant Shubham Kumar’sLinkedIn post on the assignment
showcases how curiosity and classroom concepts turn into powerful
insights. Shubham shares:
“When I joined SPJIMR, I had little idea about
the depth and psychology
that goes into marketing. Over time, I realised that companies don’t just
sell products — they sell ideas, identities, and aspirations. One of the
most eye-opening concepts for me has been Self-Congruity Theory — the
idea that consumers choose brands that align with their own self-image
or the self they aspire to be. I even created a short YouTube video to Prof. Sekhri noted that while the #ConsumingBehaviour series was an individual project, the course also has a
group assignment component, in which each group of participants are in the role of consumer behaviour
consultants for a brand problem or a behaviour change issue of their choosing. The group would then have to come
up with three key initiatives that they suggest the brand should undertake to resolve their problem (eg, a
positioning refresh, or marketing to a new target audience) or to tackle the behaviour change issue (eg, social
initiatives, changing consumption trends).
Participant Pragya Priyou shared her experience of the course:
In total, there were 42 unique ideas where the participants’ explored theories such as the idea of self-concept and
ideal self, persuasion principles, consumer decision process model, cognitive dissonance theory, social proof theory,
culture and subculture, elaboration likelihood model, loss aversion, attitude theory, self-congruity theory, attitude
behaviour gap, social comparison theory, paradox of choice, and nudge marketing; to name a few.
Each participant explained their selected theory through interesting examples like how product placement works,
how we are choosing between healthy snack options, presented case studies of CRED, Spotify, Sula, ChatGPT and
its conditioning, Zepto’s user generated content ‘billboard’ campaign; looked at dupe culture, overconsumption, l
makeup purchases, Net ix content fatigue, and even how the hook model could be applied to an of ine context.
“Each participant positioned themselves as an expert and explained a consumer behaviour concept in a simpli ed
manner. Creativity was encouraged, and many individuals used short skits, humour, and fun music to stand out”,
explained Prof. Sekhri. “The fact that their output then had to be uploaded on a professional platform helped to ‘up
the stakes’ on quality. I feel very happy to see that each of the 42 posts has garnered appreciation and engagement
from the LinkedIn community, with peers and professionals sharing their views on the shared topic – the class’s
hard work is visible!”
Type #ConsumingBehaviour to view the PGPM marketing cohorts’ assignment on LinkedIn, and make sure to share
your thoughts and feedback with the participants!
explain this in a simple, relatable way.”
“What made Prof. Sukriti’s Consumer
Behaviour course stand out for
the PGPM cohort was how she constantly went the extra mile to make
learning exciting and relevant. The LinkedIn post assignment, where
we had to apply a consumer behaviour theory or framework to a real-
world example, really brought the subject alive. It pushed us to get
creative, think like marketers, and share our insights with the outside
world.
The in-class activities were just as impactful. They trained us to pick
up on subtle consumer behavioural cues and start seeing everyday life
through a marketing lens. By the end of the course, we weren’t just
Insights from peer learning with group assignments

4. learning marketing; rather, we were speaking marketing.
Her pedagogy struck a rare balance between theory and creativity, and that is what made the course not
just memorable, but transformational for us.”
Modern marketing requires more than demographic targeting and product positioning. It demands a deep
understanding of how people think, feel, and behave. Prof. Sekhri’s classroom strategies, research, and  eld
observations demonstrate that when marketers view consumers through a behavioural lens, they gain access to
insights that drive not only better long-term results for brands, but also more human-centred brand building.
Re ections like these highlight how SPJIMR’s PGPM classroom goes beyond theory, encouraging participants to
explore concepts deeply and apply them in creative, practical ways.
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