unit 8: consumer behaviour pt 1 Flashcards
consumer behaviour
Observable actions a person takes when purchasing and using products
Emerged in the 1950s as a research area following a reliance on case studies and anecdotal information collection
factors that impact consumers’ actions
psychological, social, personal, situational
purchase activities
how consumers acquire products; includes the purchase decision process
consumption activities (behaviours consumers display after acquiring a product)
when, where, how, why people use products; may include symbolic meaning (luxury items)
purchase decision process
problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, post-purchase evaluation
problem recognition
sufficiently large disconnect between actual state and ideal state
Ways problems are recognized:
Need recognition and opportunity recognition
need recognition
identify need, actual state declines, act to reach ideal state (hunger)
opportunity recognition
identify opportunity, ideal state moves up, act to reach ideal state (own current trustworthy car, new cars enter market and become so drastically different from our car until we act and buy new car)
information search
Internal: prior knowledge exists, memory, past experiences
External: no or limited prior knowledge likely; personal sources (friends, family), public sources (blogs, product reviews), market-dominated sources (advertising, media releases, posts on brand’s accounts)
evaluation of alternatives
Evaluate and compare all products on attributes that have the ability to deliver the benefit that they are seeking
Awareness set: evoked, inert, and inept set
evoked set (consideration set)
positive impression
inert set
no impression
inept set
negative impression
purchase decision
a) What will be purchased
b) From whom to purchase: price point, return policy, convenience, knowledge of/experience with seller
c) When to purchase:
sales/promotions, shopping experience, time pressure to buy, finances
post-purchase evaluation
Compare product to expectations to assess satisfaction
Impacts future behaviours:
Whether product will be purchased again
Whether additional products from the brand will be purchased
Whether the product or brand will be recommended
cognitive dissonance theory
Buyer discomfort caused by post-purchase conflict
State of simultaneously holding conflicting beliefs or taking action that conflicts with beliefs
Results in tension or anxiety
Is uncomfortable and people are motivated to reduce it
3 ways to reduce cognitive dissonance
Change belief, change behaviour, rationalize existence of belief and behaviour
cognitive dissonance in consumer behaviour
Post-purchase cognitive dissonance may occur
Purchase of one product contrasted against positive aspects of other products
Tension from comparisons can be reduced by follow-up seller and by marketing strategies focused on differentiation
Younger customers experience cognitive dissonance more than older customers
involvement in the purchase decision process
Effort, energy, time differs based on consumer involvement: interest and importance that a consumer attaches to the purchase and consumption of a product
High involvement if:
Expensive
Bought infrequently
Impact social social image
choice overload hypothesis definition
Suggest that extensive choice can be demotivating
Choice can be cognitively taxing
choice overload hypothesis results do not hold up when: (3)
Decision-making self-efficacy is high (confidence in their decision making)
A clear prior preference exists
One is experiencing positive affect (instances where a person is experiencing positive emotions)
situational influences
factors pertaining to considerations, time, and location that impact the purchase decision process
physical surroundings (situational influence on purchase decision process)
Physical characteristics of retail space
Atmospherics
Layout: design of floor space, online tracking
Crowding (spatial, people)
atmospherics
controllable factors that set ambience (lighting, music, decor)
social surroundings (situational influence on purchase decision process)
Interactions with others
Social shopping versus solitary shopping (purchases made, amount spent)
Role of others in our lives (shopping behaviour, impulse buys)
temporal effects (situational influence on purchase decision process)
Time of day (more variety as day progresses)
Time of year (comfort products with less daylight)
Amount of time available (lowest price, most recognizable)
Rushed purchases less common for customers short on time
antecedent states (situational influence on purchase decision process)
Momentary conditions
Emotional state (familiarity vs novelty)
Energy level (self-regulation vs impulsive buying)
Cash on hand
purchase task (situational influence on purchase decision process)
Goal of a shopping trip
Casual shoppers versus those with intent to select
Embarrassing items = more items purchased
sensory marketing
Marketing that engages the senses and affects consumer perception
Appeals to sight, sound, taste, touch, smell
Evokes memories, create emotional response
Aiming for congruence - match between the sensation and the environment
genre of music (sensory marketing)
Category of music
Can be used to attract and deter customers
Can affect spending
Classical music can make people feel sophisticated and cultured, pay more
volume of music (sensory marketing)
Loudness of music
High volume increases stress response; can stimulate arousal, good for bars where people spend more on drinks when music is loud
Low volume can be unwelcome
tempo of music (sensory marketing)
Speed of beat (bpm)
Longer browsing at slower tempos
Can help control store traffic
ambient scents - smell (sensory marketing)
Ambient scents capable of:
Attracting customers
Increasing browsing time
Increasing product interaction
Increasing spending
associative learning
process by which we come to associate certain sensations with particular feelings
learned view of odour preference (vs innate)
suggests that our preferences for certain smells are shaped by experiences, culture, and associations. wintergreen: People in France don’t like, reminds of illness
French Canadians, smell tied to candy. in contrast, innate view argues that some odour preferences are hardwired and universal, such as a natural aversion to the smell of decay or an innate liking for sweet smells that signal safety
apply cognitive dissonance theory to smoking
We smoke but also are aware of the bad effects, causes stress
One of three options according to cognitive dissonance theory:
Stop smoking
Deny health impact of smoking
Rationalize why smoking makes sense (going thru tough time in life, helps calm nerves)
Iyengar & Lepper - paradox of choice experiments
jams: Customers with extensive choice:
Were more attracted to the booth
Were equally likely to sample jams
Were less likely to purchase
essay topics: Students with extensive choice:
Were less likely to turn in the assignment
Received lower grades on their assignments (lower quality)
chocolates: Participants with extensive choice:
Spent more time deciding
Enjoyed decision-making process
Found decision-making process to be difficult and frustrating
Were less satisfied with their chosen chocolate
consumer market
all the individuals and households that buy or acquire goods and services for personal consumption
personal factors influencing buyer decisions
occupation, age and life stage, economic situation, lifestyle, and personality and self-concept
PRIZM life stage groups
uses over 30 000 variables related to demo-graphics, lifestyles, consumer behaviours, and settlement patterns to classify Canadian neighbourhoods into 68 unique lifestyle types - grads & pads, aging & active, lunch at tims
lifestyle
a person’s pattern of living as expressed in their activities, interests, and opinions
5 brand personality traits
sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness
2 factors that come between purchase intention and purchase decision
- attitude of others
- unexpected situational factors (economy turn, competitor price drop)
new product
good, service, or idea that is perceived by some potential customers as new. It may
have been around for a while, but our interest is in how consumers learn about prod-ucts for the first time and make decisions on whether to adopt them.
adoption process
The mental process through which an individual passes from first hearing about an innovation to final adoption.
stages in the adoption process
awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, adoption
stage 1 adoption process: awareness
The consumer becomes aware of the new product but lacks information about it.
stage 2 adoption process: interest
The consumer seeks information about the new product
stage 3 adoption process: evaluation
The consumer considers whether trying the new product makes sense
stage 4 adoption process: trial
The consumer tries the new product on a small scale to improve his or her
estimate of its value
stage 5 adoption process: adoption
The consumer decides to make full and regular use of the new product
