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18/03/2017 09:45:47 PM

Consumer Purchase Decision Process

A decision process underlies the visible act of making a purchase.

The purchase decision process is the series of steps or stages a consumer passes through in making choices about which products and services to buy. The process consists of five stages: (1) problem recognition, (2) Information search, (3) alternative evaluation, (4) purchase decision, and (5) post purchase evaluation.

1. Problem Recognition: Perceiving a Need

Problem recognition is a perceived difference between a person's ideal and actual situation big enough to trigger a decision. Problem recognition can be stimulated by a consumer's depleted assortment (e.g., empty milk carton in refrigerator ) or by marketing efforts.

2. Information Search: Seeking Value

The information search stage serves to clarify the options open to the consumer and may involve two steps:

-  An internal search involves the scanning of one's memory to recall previous experiences or knowledge concerning solutions to the problem. Internal search is often sufficient for frequently purchased products.

- An external search may be necessary particularly when past experience or knowledge is insufficient, the risk of making a wrong purchase decision is high, and the cost of gathering information is low.

- The primary sources of external information are:

a. Personal sources (friends and family)

b. Public sources (rating services like Consumer Reports)

c. Marketer-dominated sources (advertising or sales people)

3. Alternative Evaluation: Assessing Value

The alternative evaluation stage begins with the examination of a consumer's evaluative criteria -- both the "objective" attributes of a brand and the "subjective" factors a consumer considers important. These criteria establish a consumer's evoked set -- the group of brands that a consumer would consider buying from among all the brands in the product class of which he or she is aware.

4. Purchase Decision: Buying Value

The purchase decision involves judging the alternatives and is often influenced by seller characteristics and incentives provided by sellers at the point of purchase.

5. Post-purchase Behavior: Value in Consumption or Use

Post purchase behavior is the continuation of the consumer purchase decision process after the product choice has been made. An important result of this stage is anxiety. Post- purchase anxiety, called cognitive dissonance, often results when two or more highly attractive alternatives exist in a purchase decision.

The steps included in the purchase decision process are affected by consumer involvement -- the personal, social and economic significance of the purchase to the consumer. High involvement products typically have at least one of three characteristics:

-  Expensive relative to a consumer's disposable income.

- Could have serious social and/or economic consequences.

- Can be perceived as reflecting a person's social image.

Three general problem-solving variations exist in the consumer purchase decision process:

a. Routine problem solving involves little or no effort to acquire external information or evaluate alternatives; typically used for frequently purchased or low unit value products.

b. Limited problem solving involves the use of moderate information-seeking efforts, often used when the buyer has little time or desire to consider the purchase.

c. Extended problem solving involves considerable time in each stage of the consumer purchase decision process.

Situational influences may have a major impact on the nature and scope of the purchase process, and five such situational influences are:

1. The purchase task (gift or for personal use)

2. Social surroundings (presence of others)

3. Physical surroundings (decor and music)

4. Temporal effects (time of day)

5. Antecedent states (mood or amount of cash on hand

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