It Is The Most Step Of The Buying Process

How will a consumer decide whether to purchase a good? When a consumer purchases a good, what does this reveal?

* Decision heuristics- mental shortcuts that help a consumer narrow down choices. Price, brand, product presentation

When a consumer walks into a store, they know what products they want to buy, whether it be an item that is a needed or a product that is just a want. If

the psychological meaning of a product to customers. On the other hand, cost is related

(i) It doesn’t consist of any psychological introspective info about the behavior of the consumer. Instead, it presents a behavioral analysis based on observed consumer’s behavior in the given market. This approach has assisted to divest the theory of demand of the “last vestiges” of the psychological-analysis. Hence, the revealed preference theory is more practical, objective & scientific than the previously made demand theories.

From the case study, Grace wanted to buy a toaster and it has became a priority for her. Buying a toaster used to be a low involvement process for Grace. Initially, she was not interested to spend much time and effort, and low price was the main factor in buying a toaster. However, internet offers both high and low involvement consumers a wealth of shopping information

Once there is the decision to consume or purchase good s or services the common factor then becomes the need for that product which is at times evaluated based on attainability and price. In many situations if consumers are not motivated by the need to purchase then the possibility lies that they will not purchase. There may be different justifications that consumers internalize when making the decision to purchase a particular product at its given price. Different decisions supports the need to purchase a product such as

The most important factor that affects a person 's buying plans is the product itself. The type of products can be divided into two categories: "low-consideration purchase" and "high-consideration purchase". "Low-consideration purchase" are products involve low risks, e.g, buying soap. While "high-consideration purchase" are things involve high risks, like car or condominium. Therefore, it is rare for customers to seek influence or to be influenced by others when he or she is buying a "low-consideration purchase". On the other hand, a customer 's buying decision can be easily swayed when the product is a brand-new car since its maintenance costs or its reputation making it a "high-consideration purchase". (Singh, 2009, p.15)

A set of psychological processes combine with certain consumer characteristics to result in decision process and purchase decision. The marketer’s task is to understand what happens in the consumer’s consciousness between the arrival of the outside marketing stimuli and the ultimate purchase decisions. This paper explores individual consumer buying dynamics or the psychology that are influenced by four key processes- Motivation, Perception, Learning and Memory fundamentally influence consumer response to the various market stimuli.

Mosinez et al. (2007) states that it is a situation where consumers tend to buy certain products under certain conditions. Similarly, Gogoi (2013) recognises that both internal and external motivations influence purchase intention. However it could be argued that all of these aspects are determined by perceived value, as Liu et al. (2013) claims that purchase intention may be changed under the influence of perceived value, as it is a key point for consumers to assess and evaluate specific products.

Product substitution occurs when the demand for one product affects the demand of another. Although price can influence peoples decision to buy a substitute, personal taste, brand loyalty and demography can influence decisions often more persuasively than price. People’s income can also affect their purchasing habits, often increasing their

An element to consider is that the buyer is not necessarily the user of the product and may have influences from others. Some consumers are quite loyal to the same brand, making the decision quite routine. In some instances some consumers might not need to make a decision and knows exactly what they want. Other factors that can influence consumers could range from lifestyle, knowledge, attitude, personalities and even roles they play e.g. if the consumer were to buy snack food for a party they may choose a higher quality product that he would choose when selecting for themselves. Motivation also plays a major role where consumers would look at financial position, time constraints and value for money.

Problem recognition is the first stage in the consumer making process; it arises when there is an occurrence of a want or need. These needs could be simple, complicated or ‘ambiguous depending on a consumer’s needs, attitudes, expectations, and personality. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs suggests that the basic needs such as food, sleep and shelter need to be satisfied before moving up the pyramid, however, in my case I prioritized my safety and esteem needs. Having moved into a new apartment of my own, I presumed the TV I had bought a year ago was out-dated, small, and not sophisticated enough and later came to a conclusion to purchase another TV which suited my taste and preferences. Prior or to coming to this decision, I had to

This would logically then lead the consumer to the second part of the process ‘the pre-purchase search’, this is the point where the consumer begins to process the thought of what product may satisfy their need, they may base their ideas on previous experience and memories (psychological factors), or may opt to search for useful information to help in their decision (basic internet search). At this point the consumer is drawing up information from external sources and at the same time has psychological factors influencing their decision. i.e.Consumer’smotivation, perception, learning, personality and attitudes.

In theory, when consumers decided to purchase products, sometimes they would compare the prices between different firms, then make decisions, since they do not have full information about prices and qualities. They would spend time and energy on searching. Some customers would make phone calls or travel to different