Ch. 4 Consumer Behaviour

consumer decision process

1. need recognition

2. information search

3. alternative evaluation

4. purchase decision

5. postpurchase

need recognition

• unsatisfied need, want to move from needy state to desired state

• functional needs: pertain to the performance of a product or service

• psychological needs: pertain to the personal gratification consumers associate with a product or service

information search

• internal search: buyers examine their own memory and knowledge, gathered through experiences

• external search: buyers seek information outside their personal knowledge

factors affecting consumer’s search processes

• perceived benefit vs. perceived costs

• locus of control

• actual or perceived risk

alternative evaluation

• retrieval sets: products that can be easily brought forth from memory

• evoked sets: include only the products a consumer considers when making a purchase decision

• evaluative criteria: set of salient or important attributes about a particular product that are used to compare alternative products

• determinant attributes: product features that are important to the buyer and on which competing brands are perceived to differ

purchase decision

• customers are ready to buy

• purchase and consumption

• influenced by ease of purchase, stock, and wait times,

post purchase

outcomes

• customer satisfaction

• post purchase dissonance

• customer loyalty

factors influencing consumer buying decisions

• psychological factors (motives, attitudes, perceptions, learning, lifestyle)

• social factors (family, reference groups, culture)

• situational factors (purchase situation, shopping situation, temporal state)

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

psychological factor - motives

1. self-actualization

2. esteem

3. love

4. safety

5. physiological

perception

psychological factor

• the process by which people select, organize, and interpret information to form a meaningful picture of the world

• determined by culture, tradition, and upbringing

learning

psychological factor

• refers to a change in a person's thought process or behaviour that arises from experience and takes place throughout the consumer decision process

• affects both attitudes and perceptions

• affected by social experiences

lifestyle

psychological factor

• refers to the way consumers spend their time and money

family

social factor

• decision makers

• influencers

reference groups

social factor

• one or more persons and individual uses as a basis for comparison regarding beliefs, feelings, and behaviours

• could be family, friends, co-workers, famous people

• provide: information, rewards, self-image

culture

social factor

• shared meanings, beliefs, morals, and customs

• greatly influences consumer behaviour

situational factors

• purchase: purpose

• shopping: experience

• temporal state: feelings

involvement

the consumer’’s degree of interest in or concern about the product or service

high involvement

• greater attention

• deeper processing

• develops strong attitudes and purchase intentions

• ex. used when buying a car

low involvement

• less attention

• peripheral processing

• generates weak attitudes and increased use of cues

• ex. buying a chocolate bar

extended problem solving

considerable time and effort into analyzing alternatives, ofen when decision entails great deal of risk (buying new clothes)

limited problem solving

moderate amount of time and effort put into (grocery shopping)

impulse buying

decision made on the spot when customer sees the product