Book excerpt: Basics Marketing 01: Consumer Behaviour examines the relationship between consumers and culture, and the impact of current trends on consumer behaviour. It explores the different ways in which consumers around the world respond to marketing strategies, examining the interpretation of new stimuli using existing knowledge, and how both new and remembered knowledge combine to influence purchasing behaviour. Finally, there is a detailed examination of the influence of ethnicity, religion, class, age and gender on consumers' actions and the importance of understanding the challenges and diversity of a global marketplace.