Consumer Decision Making

What get's you into a shopping mood? Was it a recent pay raise? How about plain curiosity to see what new items have hit the shelves? I know from personal experience that there are three main thoughts that get me into a shopping mood: having a problem and needing to solve it (wearing my winter boots so often that I put a hole in one and need a new pair), getting my financial aid refund, and being curious to what stores have been putting out for the holidays (I love Halloween and Christmas).

Have you ever noticed how much you spend on impulse buying per month? Maybe it was on a new beauty product or a video game that was just released. I find myself adding random items to my cart at Target and then checking out and spending over $50 every time. This action actually has a term, purchase momentum. This is when consumers make an impulse buy and then continue to make them, some call this a shopping spree.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by your options at a grocery store? For me, Walmart offers 5 or more different brands for the same product. Ranch dress, for example. On one hand, this is great because it allows me to try different kinds and determine which ones are my favorite. On the other hand, this could cause me to feel overwhelmed because I just don't know which one to choose. Should I buy Ken's ranch because I know I like it? Or should I try something new like Hidden Valley? Consumers may get psychologically exhausted from having too many choices. This is called consumer hyper choice.

Some stores, such as Walmart, are big-box stores and are known for having many different products and options within those products. Other stores are more niche and only carry certain brands and only one product, not variations of that product. Some examples are Wegmans and Trader Joe's. Wegmans often carries the majority of their brand. Next time you go, look and see the brand options for different products such as meat, baking products, and canned goods. Trader Joe's carries a lot of their own brand as well. They also carry different brands that you would not see at Walmart or Wegmans. Often the products are organic and a bit pricy.

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Brand Personality

Brands try to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Some of these distinctions can include: quality of the items, brand colors, spokes character, commercial jingle, packaging, and product design. Consumers attribute personality traits to products as if they were human. Think to yourself how you perceive the following brands (be honest): Apple Nike Dove Harley Davidson Coca Cola Guess All of these brands have strategically marketed themselves so that their consumers can associate personality traits to them. The simple truth is that people are always making assumptions about brands. In order for a brand to market successfully, they need to be memorable. They also want positive associations. We can assess these brands by using the Aaker Brand Personality Model. This model has 5 key traits that are guidelines that companies can use to establish their brands. Take a look at Harley Davidson: You would classify this brand personality as excitement and ruggedness. ...

Attitudes

Understanding attitudes is crucial for marketers. Consumers form attitudes about every aspect of their lives, including products and brands. If a person has a negative attitude towards Pepsi then they will not purchase any Pepsi products. Attitudes can be influenced by a number of things. For example, if a brand uses celebrity endorsement in their ads and the celebrity has a scandal and/or gets into trouble with the law, then consumers may chose to have a negative attitude towards the brand. Another aspect that influences consumer's attitudes are their mood when they see the ad. If the consumer is angry about something that happened at work and then they see your ad on social media while on break, they may choose to have a negative attitude towards it. In 1989, Pepsi decided to have Madonna endorse their brand and featured her and her new song, Like a Prayer in the ad campaign. The day after they released the ad, her music video was released and was extremely controversial. ...

Ethnicity and Acculturation

Marketers take into account consumer's ethnicity and racial differences. Research has discover that members in a minority group will find a spokesperson from their own group more trustworthy. It is more likely for them to consider purchasing the product. Although the research is true, marketers need to be cautious about assuming all members of an ethnic or racial group are the same. This is not the case. Consumers may find certain ads offensive when they are geared towards their ethnic or racial group. If they find it offense, then the marketers did not succeed in trying to target them and convince them to buy their products. When individuals immigrate to a new country, they may go through acculturation. This is a process in which the individual learns the beliefs and behaviors endorsed by another culture. These people choose to assimilate to their environment. Others may choose to resist the blending process and stick to their cultures and traditions. They do not want to blend in...

The Art of Consumer Behavior

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