„ Consumer behavior is the study of how

people buy, what they buy, when they buy
and why they buy. It attempts to understand
the buyer decision making process, both
individually and in groups. It studies
characteristics of individual consumers such
as demographics, psychographics, and
behavioural variables in an attempt to
understand people's wants.
 
  


 

Consumer buying decision process includes

six stages. They are:
„ aroblem Recognition
„ Information Search
„ Evaluation of alternatives
„ aurchase Decision
„ aurchase
„ aost-aurchase Evaluation
 x. aROBLEM RECOGNITION

„ Difference between the desired state and the

actual condition.

Example:
By seeing a commercial for a new pair of shoes,
stimulates your recognition that you need a new pair
of shoes.
Hunger stimulates your need to eat.
 ë. INFORMATION SEARCH
„ Internal Search:
--- Memory
„ External Search:
--- Friends and Relatives
A successful information search leaves a buyer with
possible alternatives, the •
••.

Example:
Hungry, want to go out and eat, evoked set is
Chinese food
Indian food
Burger king
 . EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES

„ Need to establish criteria for evaluation,

features the buyer wants or does not want.
„ Rank/weight alternatives.

Example:
If you want to eat something spicy, then
Indian food gets the highest rank etc«
 0. aURCHASE DECISION :

Choose buying alternative, includes

product, package, store, method of
purchase etc.

5. aURCHASE :
May differ from decision, time lapse
between purchase decision and the actual
purchase, product availability.
 Œ. aOST-aURCHASE EVALUATION :

It is the outcome Satisfaction or

Dissatisfaction. This can be reduced by
warranties, after sales communication etc.

Example:
After eating an Indian meal, you may
think that really you wanted a Chinese
meal instead.
  



 

There are four types of consumer buying

behavior, they are :
„ Routine Response/arogrammed Behavior
„ Limited Decision Making
„ Extensive Decision Making
„ Impulse buying
 x. ROUTINE
RESaONSE/aROGRAMME
D BEHAVIOR

Buying low involvement, frequently

purchased, low cost items.

Examples :
Soft drinks, snack foods, milk etc.
 ë. LIMITED DECISION
MAKING
„ Buying product occasionally.
„ That is when you need to obtain information
about unfamiliar brand in a familiar product
category.

Example:
Clothes--know product class but not the
brand.
 .EXTENSIVE DECISION
MAKING :
Complex high involvement,
unfamiliar, expensive and infrequently
bought products.
Spend a lot of time seeking
information and deciding. High degree of
risk.

Example:
Cars, homes, computers, education.
 0. IMaULSE BUYING :

No conscious planning.
The purchase of the same product does not
always elicit the same Buying Behavior. aroduct
can shift from one category to the next.
For example:
Going out for dinner for one person may be
extensive decision making (for someone that does
not go out often at all), but limited decision
making for someone else. The reason for the
dinner, whether it is an anniversary celebration, or
a meal with a couple of friends will also determine
the extent of the decision making.