Chapter three

Consumer’s Decision Making Process

Consumer Behavior

BY Seid M.
 OUTLINE
Overview of Consumer’s
Decision Making Process in
Fashion Products

Need Recognition

Pre-Purchase Search

Evaluating the Alternatives

Purchase
Post-Purchase evalution

Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
 Consumer’s
decisions
 Consumer’s decisions are the results of their
life-style, which in turn is influenced by the
marketing activities, culture, sub-culture,
values, social status, demographics, family
type, emotions, personality traits, motives,
perception, and learning.
 Information search and then processing it,
links these influences to consume.

Consumer decisions result from perceived problems (as for example, being thirsty) and
opportunities (like, being in a market place). .
Meaning of Consumer Decision Making

Consumer Decision Making refers to the process

under which consumers go through in deciding
what to purchase, including problem recognition,
information searching, evaluation of alternatives,
making the decision and post-purchase
evaluation.

In the present world, a consumer has a lot of

options while taking any decision. But basically,
the consumer has five decision dimensions.
 Types of Intellectual property rights

The decision to buy any product is the most important task. Until and
What to
buy? unless if a decision is made a consumer cannot buy anything.

The next decision the consumer has to make is to how much of the
How much to
buy? product to be purchased. It depends on the type of the product to be
purchased and then the purchases can be made

Where to Consumers usually will go to a place where the services offered are
buy?
excellent.
When to The consumer also has to decide the time when the purchase has to be
buy? made. This also is influenced by the availability of the products. .

How to buy? Under this the consumer has to decide whether to pay cash or by credit
payment. Also the consumer expects the goods purchased to be delivered
 Models or 4 Views of
Consumer Decision Making
An Economical View or
Model
 Traditionally, economics has been
considered to be the mother
discipline of marketing.
 Economists believe that consumers
derive some utility (a feeling of
satisfaction) from consuming a
particular product and so their
consumption activity will be
directed towards pursuing
maximization of utility.
 Cont
The Passive View or Model ….

 The passive view portrays the consumer as

someone who is basically carried away by the

promotional and self-oriented efforts of the

marketer.

 As per the passive view, consumers are

perceived to be impulsive who take irrational

purchase decisions and are influenced by the

promotional offers of the marketers.

 The passive model is criticized as it fails to take a

 Cont
….
A Cognitive View or Model

 As a consumer, man is usually involved in

thinking and problem solving. He is
constantly involved in an active search for
goods and services which will not only
satisfy his needs but enrich his life also.
 As per the cognitive view consumers are
involved in an information seeking and
processing method.
 They try to gather all the necessary
information from various sources, such as a
trusted friend, or an expert and so on.
 Cont
An Impulsive or Emotional View of ….
Consumer

 For emotional or impulse purchases, in the

absence of a search for pre-purchase
information, it is the mood and feelings of
the consumer which will decide on the
emotional purchase decision.
 Emotional decisions could be rational to
some extent also.
 the consumer may take an emotional
decision to purchase a product, but he will
be rational while deciding or choosing one
brand over another.
Consumer Decision Making Process

 The buying process begins when

customers recognize an unsatisfied
need.
 Then they seek information about how to
satisfy the need- what, products might
be useful and how they can be bought.
 Customers evaluate the various
alternative sources of merchandise such
as stores, catalogues, and the Internet
and choose a store or an Internet site to
visit or a catalogue to review.
 Three types of customer decision-
making processes are

 Customers typically engage in extended problem

Extended Problem
solving when the purchase decision involves a lot of
Solving
risk and uncertainty.
 There are many types of risks.
 Financial risks arise when customers purchase an
expensive product.
 Physical risks are important when customers feel a
product may affect their health or safety.
 Social risks arise when customers believe a product
will affect how others view them.
 customer decision-making
processes are

 Customers engage in this type of buying

process when they have had some prior
Limited Problem
experience with the product or service and
Solving
their risk is moderate.

 In these situations, customers tend to rely

more on personal knowledge than on external
information.

 They usually choose a retailer they have

shopped at before and select merchandise they
 customer decision-making
processes are

 Habitual decision making is a purchase decision

process involving little or no conscious effort.
Habitual Decision-  Today’s customers have many demands on
Making
their time. One way they cope with these time
pressures is by simplifying their decision-
making process.
 When a need arises, customers may
automatically respond with, “I’ll buy the same
thing bought last time from the same store.’
Typically, this habitual decision-making process
is used when decisions aren’t very important to
Stages Involved in Consumer Decision Making
Process
Consumer behavior is the way in which individuals and
organizations make decisions to spend their available
resources, such as – time or money. Consumer behavior
relates to two major types of marketing – business- to-
consumer and business-to-business. We will begin by
focusing on the role of consumer behavior in business- to-
consumer marketing (B2C), which involves selling goods
and services to end-user customers

business- to-consumer business-to-business

Examples of B2C businesses include Whether you are deciding where to eat
restaurants, car dealerships, and barber or what cell phone plan to purchase,
shops, each of which market to individual most consumers targeted by B2C
consumers like you who might use their marketers go through a common
 1.Problem
Recognition
The buying process begins when consumers recognize they
have a need to satisfy. This is called the problem recognition
stage.

Business Growth – For ensuring growth and profit,

it is important for enterprises, more so in case of small-
scale businesses to shield their exclusive goods or
services from the rivals who may snatch away their
market share. Losing market share in the initial phases of
business cycle can be dangerous in the long run to an
enterprise's health
 2 . Information Search:

 Once consumers recognize a problem, they seek

information that will help them make the best possible
decision about whether or not to purchase a product to
address the problem.
 Consumers will expend effort searching for information
based on how important they consider the purchase
 Larger purchases, like buying a house or a new car, often
require a great deal of information gathering.

External Information Search: Internal Information Search:

When consumers seek information beyond Not all purchases require consumers to search for
their personal knowledge and experience information externally. For frequently purchased
to support them in their buying decision, items such as – sham¬poo or toothpaste, internal
they are engaging in an external information often provides a sufficient basis for
3 .Evaluating Alternatives:

 Evaluative criteria are “product attributes that

consumers believe will provide the benefits consumers
seek, and therefore the attributes they desire in the
products they purchase.”
 Evaluative criteria can be both tangible and intangible.

 For example, suppose a consumer wished to buy a new

digital camera. Tangible evaluative criteria he or she
might use could include being lightweight, having a
powerful zoom lens, and within a certain price range. In
tangible criteria might include a brand with a good
reputation and being perceived as fun to use
4 .Making the Purchase:

 After evaluating the alternatives, a customer will most

likely buy a product. Usually the marketer has little

control over this part of the consumer decision-making

process. Still,

 consumers have several decisions to make at this point.

For example, once you have decided on the car you

want, you have to decide where to buy it.

 5 . Post-Purchase
Evaluation
 Post-purchase behavior is the final stage in the consumer decision

process when the customer assesses whether he is satisfied or

dissatisfied with a purchase.

 How the customer feels about a purchase will significantly influence

whether he will purchase the product again or consider other products

within the brand repertoire.

 A customer will also be able to influence the purchase decision of

others because he will likely feel compelled to share his feelings about

the purchase

 example is when customers are asked for their contact information at

the point of purchase so they can be targeted later with a follow-up call
 Fashion consumer All purchasing process is made up of a series of
buying process
previously studied stages. Next, we are going to
mention all the purchasing phases that a fashion
consumer goes through. example of a fashion person

First stage, Types of fashion consumers Recognition of the problem: in this phase, a
need to buy is born. There is a need that can be located in Maslow’s pyramid Information
search: the consumer begins to look for their possibilities. Stores, opinions, styles, and
everything related
Second stage, Types of fashion consumers Evaluation of alternatives: in this phase, the
feasible options are analyzed and perceived. The price and the idea in mind are
evaluated

Third stage, Types of fashion consumers Purchase decision: among the alternatives, the
client decides whether to make the purchase or not.You must take into account that the
price that the consumer is willing to pay is related to the image of the product.
Attributes valued by the
consumer

 All types of consumers in the fashion sector evaluate

attributes throughout their buying process.

 It’s not beneficial for the image of the company to

leave attributes out and not take them into account.

 For this reason, a company dedicated to fashion must

cover all the necessary aspects for the satisfaction of
its customers.
 Here, we are going to break down some attributes so
that you take them into account for your business.
 How copy write is Important To
The Fashion Industry?

In this factor, the brand dedicated to fashion must show work of

Quality good elaboration. Good fabrics, seams, closures, among other
features.

Design: Designs must be good and done correctly. The sizes must be exact
to the measurements indicated, the garment models must be
consistent with the style of the brand, or they must also be
functional, etc.
It’s necessary to manage and establish a balanced pricing policy.
Price: This measure will allow the customer or consumer to determine
which brands are they able to buy from.

Due to the great fast fashion movement, the problem of human

Country of origin exploitation, copying, or plagiarism, among others, the consumer
is more interested in knowing where the garment they will acquire
comes preprofessional person Brand:.
 Factors Affecting Consumer’s Purchase
Decision

A consumer’s purchase decision tends to be affected by the following four factors:

 Demographic factors are unique to a particular person. They are

1. Demographic Factors: objective, quantifiable, and easily identifiable population data such
as sex, income, age, and marital status.
 They also involve identification of who is responsible for the
decision¬-making or buying and who is the ultimate consumer

 Psychological factors refer to the intrinsic or inner aspects of an

individual. An understanding of consumer psychology guides the
2.Psychological Factors:
marketers’ segmentation strategy. For example, consumers
respond differently towards the same retail marketing mix due to
their respective motives, personality, perception, learning, level of
involvement, and attitude
 2..Psychological Factors

 A motive is an internal energizing force that orients a person's activities towards

Motives:
satisfying a need or achieving a goal. Actions are influenced by a set of motives and
not by just one. If marketers can identify the relevant motives behind consumer
shopping, they can develop a better retail marketing mix.

 Perception is the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information

Perception:
inputs to produce meaning. Recognition, selection, organization, and response to a
particular stimulus is an extremely personal process subject to individual needs,
values, and expectations
 Learning is the process through which a relatively permanent change in behaviour
Learning:
results from the consequences of past behavior.

 Attitude is the consumers’ predisposition to respond favorably or unfavorably to

Attitude: an element of retail mix or the retail mix in its entirety. It comprises knowledge
and positive and negative feelings about an object or activity
 Environmental Factors:

Environmental factors cover all the physical and social characteristics of a consumer’s
external world, including physical objects (goods and outlets), spatial relationships
(location of the shopping center and merchandise in stores), and the social factors
(opinion leaders, the person’s family, co-customers, reference groups, social class, and
culture.
The environmental factors influence consumers’ wants, learning,
. Physical Environment:
motives, etc., which in turn influence affective and cognitive
responses and, among other things, the shopping behavior of the
individual.
The social environment includes all social interactions among people.
. Social Environment: Consumers interact with friends, relatives, and salespersons
regarding prospective.

Culture refers to the set of values, ideas, and attitudes that are
i. Culture and Sub-
Culture: accepted by a homogeneous group of people and transmitted to the
 Lifestyle:

• Lifestyle refers to an individual’s mode of living as identified by his

activities, interests, and opinions. Lifestyle variables have been

measured by identifying a consumer’s day-to-day activities and

interests.

• Lifestyle is considered to be highly correlated with consumer values

and personality.

• An individual’s lifestyle is influenced, among other things, by the

social group he belongs to and his occupation.

 Consumer Decision Making Process: a
detailed analysis
 The consumer decision making is a complex process with involves all the
stages from problem recognition to post purchase activities.

 All the consumers have their own needs in their daily lives and these needs
make them make different decisions.
 These decisions can be complex depending on the consumer’s opinion
about a particular product, evaluating and comparing, selecting and
purchasing among the different types of product.

 Therefore, understanding and realizing the core issue of the process of

consumer decision making and utilize the theories in practice is becoming a
common viewpoint by many companies and people.
 Consumer behavior is the decision-making process that buyers go through prior to

making actual purchases. An understanding of consumer behavior is necessary for

successful marketing, a group of activities designed to persuade prospective buyers

to choose one product, service, or company over others.

 Consumer behaviorists identify those who are most likely to need and want certain

goods, be they designed objects, fashion-related products, or any consumable item.

Designed goods have a special place in the minds of consumers; this is largely

driven by a combination of two conflicting behaviors: waning (then buying) what

the rest of the crowd wants and seeking (then purchasing) what’s truly unique and

innovative.
 To address this issue, marketers try to develop and impart to the purchaser a
special set of characteristics and qualities that distinguishes a product, service, or
company from those of competitors. There are various ways to accomplish this,
some traditional and some less conventional. But regard less of the approach
used, all marketers must listen to their customers and give them what they want.