TOPIC 2.

Consumer Decision Process

1. Problem recognition
2. Search and evaluation
3. Purchasing process
4. Post-purchase behaviour

Consumer Behaviour – International Business Degree, 4th Year

TOPIC 2: Consumer decision process

Consumer decision process

To understand different stages that result in the

selection of one product over the competing
options
To identity which factors determine each stage
To consider consumer’s evaluations of a product
before and after the purchase
TOPIC 2: Consumer decision process
1. Problem recognition

STAGES IN CONSUMER DECISION MAKING

Problem recognition
INTERNAL VARIABLES EXTERNAL VARIABLES

Personality Information search MICRO:

Groups
Lifestyles
Evaluation of
alternatives Family
Motivation

Perception Buying decision / not MACRO:

buying decision
Attitudes (purchase) Social class

Learning Outcomes after buying Environment

the product (post-
Memory purchase experience) Culture/subcultures
TOPIC 2: Consumer decision process
1. Problem recognition

STAGES IN CONSUMER DECISION MAKING

Problem recognition

CUSTOMERS DECISIONS are decisions

Information search customers make in the marketplace as
buyers, payers and users

Evaluation of
alternatives Whether to purchase
What to purchase
Buying decision / not When to purchase
buying decision
(purchase) From whom to purchase
How to pay for it
Outcomes after buying
the product (post-
purchase experience)
TOPIC 2: Consumer decision process
1. Problem recognition

TYPES OF CONSUMER DECISIONS

If you are very familiar with the product or brand.

TOPIC 2: Consumer decision process
1. Problem recognition

What is problem recognition?

Customer problem: Any state of deprivation, discomfort, or wanting (whether
physical or psychological) felt by a person

Problem recognition is a realization by the customer that he

or she needs to buy something to get back to the normal state
of comfort physically and psychologically

Due to:
• An internal stimulus
• An external stimulus

Problem can arise from

ACTUAL or IDEAL state
TOPIC 2: Consumer decision process
2. Search

What is information search?

Information search is the process by which we survey the
environment for appropriate data to make a reasonable decision

TYPES OF INFORMATION SEARCH

a) Internal vs. External search
b) Prepurchase vs. Ongoing Search
You want to learn
Prepurchase Search Ongoing Search about this product,
even tough you have
no intention on buying
it
Determinants Involvement with Involvement with
purchase product

Motives Making better purchase Building a bank of

decisions information for future
use

Outcomes Better purchase Increased impulse

decisions buying When you search about a
product without any intention
of buying it you actually end
up buying it.
c) Deliberate vs. Accidental search You had no intention of
searching for it
TOPIC 2: Consumer decision process
2. Search

HOW MUCH DO WE SEARCH? Determinants of the amount of search:

We search more when: Familiarity and expertise

- the purchase is important
- when we have more of a need to learn
about the purchase
Helps you to by putting all the information
you are looking for in 1 place. Ie. Sky
scanner or trivago when looking for flights or Expert people know so
hotels of all platforms in the same site and much about the product
compares them to you directly. that they know what to
search for.
CYBERMEDIARIES Newbies are the ones who
don’t know about the
INTELLIGENT AGENTS product and search a lot.
Like Amazon, which remembers your search criteria and offers you
alternatives to the products you are looking for.

Involvement

Time pressure
TOPIC 2: Consumer decision process
3. Evaluation
Awareness can be
measured in 3 ways:
WHICH ALTERNATIVES DO WE CONSIDER? 1. Top of mind: asking the
consumer when speaking
Awareness Set about the product, ie
cars, which is the 1º
brand that comes to your
mind?
2. Recall: The other 2
brands that come to your
mind?
Evoked Set Brands NOT recalled 3.Recognition: The
weakest one, if you give
us a list of car brands and
ask which ones do we
recognise.

Brands NOT
Only this ones will be Consideration Set
considered during the considered
evaluation of alternatives.
AWARENESS EVALUATION: (top of mind, recall, recognition)

WHICH SOURCES OF INFORMATION DO WE USE?

Marketer sources Non-Marketer sources
Mass media/Personal media Personal
Advertising Family, friends and other acquaintances
Salespersons Past experience
Product/service Independent sources
Brochures
Store displays Public information
Company website Product or service experts
TOPIC 2: Consumer decision process
3. Evaluation
Practice

Alternative evaluation
Evaluation criteria Decision rules

Prior experience with a (similar) product

Present information at time of purchase
Beliefs about brands (from marcom)
Determinant attributes
Compensatory Simple: consumer
Lexicographic: consumer selects selects the brand that
the brand that scores the best on the
has the largest number
most important attribute Non- simple additive of positive attributes
Elimination by aspects: Compensatory
consumer imposes cutoffs – lexicographic weighted additive Weighted: consumer
examines all the alternatives first on the multiples brand ratings
the most important attributes, admitting elimination by by importance weights
for further consideration only those that This is the most elaborate way of
satisfy the minimum cut-off level on this aspects selecting an option.

important attribute.
conjunctive
Conjuctive: consumer chooses a
brand that meets all the the cutoffs
TOPIC 2: Consumer decision process
4. Purchasing process

Delay in implementation? Deviation from the

identified choise?
Why?

Physical Social Time

surroundings surroundings experience

Situational effects on
consumer behaviour at
Emotional the time of purchase
states

Certain stores that play music, or use some sense that trigger you to
purchase something even if you didn’t had the intention of buying it.
The shopping experience
Store image, atmosferics, In store decision making
salesperson,…
E-commerce
TOPIC 2: Consumer decision process
5. Post-purchase behaviour

Postpurchase experience
Very important, for marketers its the most important stage.
Meeting the expectations=Satisfaction
 Decision Confirmation Even better if it exceeds our expectations.
Once we have done the purchase we enter the cognitive
dissonance phase

Cognitive dissonance: a postpurchase doubt the buyer experiences

about the wisdom of the choice

 Consumption & Experience evaluation: satisfaction/dissatisfaction

DISCONFIRMATION
DELIGHTED
Expected
Performance

CONFIRMATION
Performance

DISCONFIRMATION
DISSATISFIED
Expectancy Disconfirmation Model
TOPIC 2: Consumer decision process
5. Post-purchase behaviour

Postpurchase experience
 Decision Confirmation
 Consumption & Experience evaluation: satisfaction/dissatisfaction

 Future response: exit, voice or loyalty Loyalty is not only re buying something, you are truly loyal if you
re buy it and you also recommend the product

 Disposal

• Throw it away (recycle)

• Give it away
• Sell it
• Reuse it for other purposes