Consumer Decision Making Process

This assignment examines the consumer decision-making process through the lens of a personal purchase. Students are tasked with analyzing their recent laptop acquisition by applying each stage of the 5-step process: need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior. A questionnaire is provided to guide data collection and analysis.

Consumer Behaviour
and Marketing
Psychology

TABLE OF CONTENT
Option 1: Your recent purchase of a product or a service based on the 5-step Consumer Decision
Making Process................................................................................................................................3
1. Identify and analyse the need or want that led to the purchase of the product or service.......3
2. Conduct an internal and external information search.............................................................3
3. Evaluate alternatives and narrow down the attributes of the product or service that satisfy
the need or want..........................................................................................................................3
4. Analyse available purchase methods......................................................................................3
5. Analyse post-purchase behaviour and satisfaction.................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

Option 1: Your recent purchase of a product or a service based on the 5-step
Consumer Decision Making Process.
The consumer decision making process also termed as customer purchasing procedure
states about the journey through which a consumer is required to go for buying a commodity. It
is where interpreting the factual concept of consumer's buying process is equally important for
both the customers and the entities. It is where the consumers with such gradual support will take
most appropriate decision of purchasing and the organisational bodies can refer to formulate
likely strategies of marketing to accelerate the sale of their offered goods and services.
1. Identify and analyse the need or want that led to the purchase of the product or service
It is a foremost step where the consumers are generally referred to ascertain any
unsatisfied demand that is required to be fulfilled (Goldsmith, 2016). This is for instance to
discuss upon such a factual situation of mine where I have just enrolled for an undergraduate
degree in a university where we get required to do daily projects and requirements. For which, I
am in need of purchasing a portable system to work from both my college and home. I thereby
identified a prime requisition of buying a laptop for the same.
2. Conduct an internal and external information search
I hereby started to investigate about such products that can duly satisfy my needs. Herein,
I referred to conduct both internal and external search to get some possible alternatives of laptops
that will tend to fulfil my needs (Oliver, 2014). It is where for internal search, I made use of
memory and contacted my friends and relatives as a part of carrying out an external search.
3. Evaluate alternatives and narrow down the attributes of the product or service that satisfy the
need or want
At this stage, I referred to evaluate all options that I have got in the above carried step
where I assessed the laptop brands of Dell, HP, Acer and Mac, etc., in terms of their warranty,
durability, price, quality and after sale services, etc.
4. Analyse available purchase methods
This is to chose from the purchasing alternatives where it involved some prompt
considerations of the product, its packaging, methods of buying and storing, etc. It is where after
analysing so many options, I lastly decided to buy an HP laptop because of its advanced battery
life that I thought will serve to my foremost purpose of working for longer time period. It
however reflected the purchase decision that is duly accompanied by yet another option of

purchase that tends to differ from decision due to the accessibility of the chosen product or a
time lapse in between the buying decision and actual buying (Solomon, 2014). I was however
done with a final selection and ended up by purchasing the above determined laptop.
5. Analyse post-purchase behaviour and satisfaction
It is referred to be the final stage of this entire process where I had a positive post
purchase behaviour with some positive feedbacks about the product I purchased and I was
fulfilled with its performance and quality as well (Yee and Rashad Yazdanifard, 2014). As a
result to which, I further recommended it to my friends and fellow students to buy an HP laptop
and together committed myself to be loyal towards this brand.

Questionnaire
(Chosen Product: Laptop) Name- Gender- Age-
 For what purpose, you have intended to buy a laptop?
◦ For making college assignments
◦ For watching movies
◦ To play games
◦ To surf internet
 What internal sources have been referred by you to gather a liable set of information
about those laptops that can exactly meet your necessities?
◦ Memory
◦ Basic needs
◦ Lifestyle, personality and attitude
◦ I have not referred to any internal sources
 What external sources you referred to collect likely information about those laptops
that will serve your purpose?
◦ Suggestion from friends and families
◦ Online investigation on internet
◦ Any other reference groups like laptop providers
◦ I have not referred to any external sources
 What was the most preferred property of a laptop you were looking for before
purchasing?
◦ Warranty
◦ Durability
◦ Price
◦ Quality
◦ After sale services
◦ All of the above
 What were the brand options of the laptops you looked for, before taking a final

decision?
◦ HP
◦ Dell
◦ Acer
◦ Mac
◦ Any other, please specify _______
 What was the most preferred method of buying for you?
◦ Online ordering
◦ Offline by visiting the retail outlet
 Which laptop you purchased at the end?
◦ HP
◦ Dell
◦ Acer
◦ Mac
◦ Any other, please specify _______
 Will you suggest your friends and relatives to refer the similar laptop you purchased?
◦ Yes
◦ No
 On what basis, you will recommend your friends and relatives to buy the same?
◦ Battery life of the product
◦ After sale service
◦ Durability
◦ Performance

REFERENCES
Goldsmith, E.B., 2016. Consumer economics: Issues and behaviors. Routledge.
Oliver, R.L., 2014. Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. Routledge.
Solomon, M.R., 2014. Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10). Engelwood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Yee, C. and Rashad Yazdanifard, C., 2014. How customer perception shape buying online
decision. Global Journal of Management And Business Research. 14(2).