Social Factors
People from different cultures have tastes, buy different products and respond in differnt ways to the same service or product. Therefore, the demographic structure of a foreign market should be considered. The aging of population in major western markets, and the increase in population in several countries such as India and China, is another continuing development that will affect international marketing. As teens around the world are becoming a global market segment today, and sub-Saharan Africa is becoming part of global market, the marketing strategies mix, including international and export pricing will have to adapt to social factors. That is when pricing for international markets, one has to take into consideration of local material culture, language, aesthetics, education and religion, as well as attitudes and values. Firms need to examine carefully target market country's characteristics and purchasing behaviors, to select appropriate pricing strategy. Price level is an important criteria used by consumers in evaluating comprting products. Other criteria such as product quality and performance are important tocustomers (Douglass and Wind 1987). Thus, in developing pricing strategy, firms must be aware of foreign consumers' preferences, perceptions, and purchasing behaviors with respect to various price levels (Theodosiou, 2000).