THE ROLE OF TERTIARY EDUCATION ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF NIGERIAN CONSUMERS

Nigeria in recent time is witnessing a change in the behaviour of consumer. The market is now predominantly consumer driven. The focus is shifting for product based marketing to need based marketing. All these are attributed to change caused by evolutionary and educational advancement. There is an old adage that says “knowing and not doing is equal to not knowing.” The aim of educational programmes is to equip people with knowledge, skills and tools needed to make lasting changes that positively impact their lives. Therefore, this study is conducted to examine the relationship between tertiary education and the behaviour of Nigeria consumers. The study made use of cross-sectional survey design. The study area was Anambra, South-Eastern Nigeria; Using multi-stage probability sampling technique, sample of 150 postgraduate students were selected from three Universities in Anambra State (Anambra State University, Uli, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and Paul’s University Awka). Necessary data were collected through Likert Scale type questionnaire and hypotheses were done using the Pearson correlation tool. The result revealed that there is a significant relationship between tertiary education and consumer behaviour. The study also shows that majority on Nigerians with tertiary education are aware of consumer buying process. The study therefore recommends the incorporation of consumer behaviour in the curriculum of higher learning as this will help reduce some extravagant expenditure incurred by consumers