Abstract:

This study examines consumer value and consumer behaviour towards made in Nigeria products in Rivers State, Nigeria. To achieve the main purpose, two specific purposes, two research questions and one hypothesis were posed. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was made up of all consumers in the 23 local government areas of Rivers State which are estimated to be around 7,409,304 people, that is, 4,112,001 males and 3,297,303 females. A sample size of 335 consumers of manufactured products such as readymade clothes, shoes, bags, furniture, sanitary, and cosmetics from the 23 LGAs was selected using convenient sampling technique and used for the study. A questionnaire validated by a marketing lecturer from Federal College of Education (Tech.), Omoku and a market from Ecobank of Nigeria, Bayelsa State branch was used to collect data for the study. The reliability of internal consistency using for the instrument was determined using Cronbach alpha test to obtain reliability index of 0.86. Data collected from the administration of instrument was analysed using percentage of Q+A x I (Atalık, 2009) to determine the consumer value for manufactured Nigeria products, mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research question on consumer behaviour towards Nigeria products. Hypothesis was tested using multiple regression computed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21.0. The study revealed that consumers’ value derived from made in Nigeria product has significant influence on subsequent buying behaviour, however, the influence was below average because they indicated their will to sometimes buy made in Nigeria. Based on the findings, the following recommendation was made amongst others: marketers of made in Nigeria products must intensify their efforts in studying and understanding consumer value and how it affects behaviour towards their product offerings.