The Effect of High and Low Level of Income on Families Purchasing Patterns of Durable Goods and Services: An Empirical Study on Jeddah Governorate KSA

Families have different purchasing patterns, arises from different economic situations, so the purchasing patterns for one family will vary from family to another. There are many factors that affect purchasing decisions towards durable goods and services when customers trying to satisfy their needs and wants. This study took economical factors, concentrated on purchasing power as a major deterministic of buying durable goods. The purchasing power which include ( income, discretionary income, disposable income, credit and wealth) which families possess. So the available income for families will form their attitudes toward goods and services, with assuming that they have a need, ability, willingness and the authority to buy. This study noticed that wife?s of families of high level income playing a main role in taken purchasing decision for most of durable goods, which the house needed, because the man of the family not concerned with purchasing matters, and thus he delegates the authority of buying to the wife of the house. In the contrary the study found that the families of low level income, purchasing decision for most of durable goods taken by the man. Resulting from the limited resources and the low income, according to the believe that the man has an economical vision, and more rational by economizing expenditures. This study concluded that the high or low level income, the main determinant which affect the purchasing patterns of families, the more availability of money, families will looking for brands, high quality of goods rather than the price, in the contrary the low level income families concentrate on the price of goods rather than the quality, limited cash inflows the main limitation of purchasing patterns. Needs and wants are dynamic and developed continuously when families income level move from low to high. The study found, that there is a strong relationship between the level of income of families and their purchasing patterns.