Consumer Purchase Behaviour Report 2022

Running head: CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Consumer Purchase Behaviour
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:

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Assignment 1.
Executive summary:
The report shows that the business organisations should have profound knowledge of the criteria
which consumers take into account while making purchase decisions regarding buying certain
products. The customers today take into account factors like quality and costs while making
purchase decisions. They also take into account the online available reviews and reviews gained
from friends and relatives regarding the products. The consumers also consider the alternative
products available in the market. Business organisations should identify all these criteria in their
product strategies in order to ensure that their products are able to create value to customers.

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Table of Contents
Assignment 1...................................................................................................................................1
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Part 1. Brief background of Sensodyne including the branding aspect:..........................................2
Part 2. Primary research:..................................................................................................................3
Part 2.1. What triggered the problem recognition?......................................................................3
Part 2. 2. Time (costs and benefits) associated with the information search, and what was
involved in the information search:.............................................................................................3
Part 2.3. The evaluative criteria and the consideration set of the consumer and how the
consumer made their decision:....................................................................................................4
Part 2.4. Where and how it was purchased and the environmental triggers happening at this
stage of the decision making process:.........................................................................................4
Part 2.5. What happened at the post evaluative stage?................................................................4
Part 3. Comparison of the primary research with academic literature:...........................................5
Part 4. Summary of the purchasing behavior:.................................................................................6
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................6
References:......................................................................................................................................8
Appendix: Interview transcript:.....................................................................................................10

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Introduction:
Business organisations today consider understanding the decision making processes of
their target customer segments in order to ensure that they are able to market appropriate
products to them so as to generate high revenue. Karimi, Holland and Papamichail (2018)
mention that customers today take into account information they gain from different sources like
online sources while making decisions to purchase particular products. In fact, the decision
making process of purchasing particular products is extremely dynamic and changes from time
to time. Limpo, Rahim and Hamzah (2018) mention that consumers today consider several
criteria like product quality and prices while making purchase decisions. The business
organisations today conduct market research to identify the criteria which customers take into
account for making purchase decisions in order to be able to provide them products which suit
these criteria and generate high revenue for them. The aim of the paper would be conducting an
analysis of the customer purchase decisions by a multinational company in terms of one its brand
of products marketed by it in Australia. The company would be GlaxoSmithKline Plc. or GSK
and the chosen brand would be Sensodyne toothpaste (Gsk.com. 2020).
Part 1. Brief background of Sensodyne including the branding aspect:
Sensodyne is an brand of premium toothpaste marketed by GSK through its Australian
subsidiary namely, GSK Australia. The company markets a range of toothpaste which are
formulated to fight specific dental problems like bleeding gums and dental sensitivity. Thus, the
brand appeal of Sensodyne lies in the fact the products marketed under the brands is formulated
to fight specific dental conditions and are often purchased by consumers suffering from denta;
problems (Au.gsk.com. 2020). The target market of Sensodyne under study would be Australia.
The oral care market of the country is extremely competitive with presence of several global

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specific oral care brands owned by transnational firms like Crest owned by P&G and Colgate
owned by Colgate-Palmolive (Feldman 2018)
GSK segments its market in Australia in terms of psychography and income. This
because the toothpastes marketed under the brand name of Sysodyne are primarily medicated
toothpastes which aim to deal and cure specific dental and oral problems like bleeding gums.
Thus, the customers using Sensodyne are generally educated and conscious about their oral
health (Au.gsk.com. 2020). As far as the economic segmentation of the customer base in
Australia is concerned, the brand targets upper and middle class customers. This is because the
toothpastes marketed under the brand are usually higher priced.
Part 2. Primary research:
Part 2.1. What triggered the problem recognition?
The customers interviewed were facing several dental problems like bleeding gums.
Thus, they felt the need to consume medicated toothpastes which are specifically formulated to
deal with the problem of bleeding gums. This need to treat the dental issue of bleeding gums
triggered the two consumers to purchase Sensodyne toothpastes (Appendix).
Part 2. 2. Time (costs and benefits) associated with the information search, and what was
involved in the information search:
The two consumers took a week’s time to decide on purchasing Sensodyne toothpastes.
They consulted oral specialists prior to arriving at the decision to purchase Sensodyne
toothpastes. The cost involved in purchasing the product was higher for the first consumer
compared to the second consumer. This was because while the first consumers continued using

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the product even after the issue of bleeding gums was cured, the second consumer discontinued
its use after the problem subsided.
Part 2.3. The evaluative criteria and the consideration set of the consumer and how the
consumer made their decision:
The criteria which the two consumers took into account to evaluate the benefit they had
derived from consuming Sensodyne toothpaste were the time taken for the product to cure the
issue of bleeding gums and the cost of the product. They also considered the reviews regarding
the product available online and advices of their friends, relatives and the dentists they had
consulted.
Part 2.4. Where and how it was purchased and the environmental triggers happening at
this stage of the decision making process:
The two consumers purchased Sensodyne toothpastes at medical stores. The
environmental trigger which happened to them while purchasing the product was that they were
also influenced by the competing medicated toothpaste brands like Crest marketed by P&G.
Part 2.5. What happened at the post evaluative stage?
The two customers behaved in different manner at the post evaluative stage. The first
consumer identified the benefits namely, curing of the bleeding gums and overall oral health
which has been achieved by consumption of Sensodyne. He decided to continue using
Sensodyne in order to enjoy the benefit on continuous basis. The second consumer also
recognized the benefit gained by consumption of Sensodyne. However, he decided to discontinue
the use of Sensodyne and decided to use it when he would face similar dental issues in the future
again.

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Part 3. Comparison of the primary research with academic literature:
The behaviors of the two consumers interviewed were similar to several aspects in
consumer behavior literature while in some aspects they were different. For example, at the first
stage of the consume decision making process namely, the problem recognition stage, both the
consumers identified the issue of bleeding gums as the problem they needed to solve. They felt
the need to purchase a brand of toothpaste which is formulated specially to fight the issue of
bleeding gums (Goodman and Paolacci 2017). The consumers in the second stage of the decision
making process namely, the searching process, they consulted dental specialists and friends as
well as relatives prior to making the purchase decision to buy Sensodyne (Amri and Prihandono,
2019). They next stage which the consumers experienced was consideration of alternative
products. For example, the consumers took into account the different brands of oral care
toothpastes in the market like Crest and Colgate. They also took into account factors visual
appeal and perceived of these brands (Sunaga, T., Park and Spence 2016). The fourth stage of
consumer decision making process which the two consumers experienced was the selection
stage (Anninou and Foxall 2017). The two consumers chose Sensodyne. The fifth and the final
stage of consumer decision making process which the two consumers experienced was
evaluation stage. The two consumers at this stage evaluated the experienced they had gaibed by
using Sensodyne toothpaste and this is where their behaviour differed from the general idea
presented in different academic literature like Calder, Isaac and Malthouse (2016). As per the
article, consumers generally remain loyal to products whose consumption results in positive
experience. The first consumer abided by this perception but the second consumer did not abide
by this opinion. He discontinued the use of Sensodyne and preferred to use it only when he may
again face the issue of bleeding gums. Thus, though the behaviour of the two interviewed

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customers remained aligned with the academic literature to a larger extent, the behaviour of the
second consumer diverted from it at the fifth stage.
Part 4. Summary of the purchasing behavior:
One can summarise from the analysis of the purchasing behavior of the interviewed
consumers that the purchasing behavior of one consumer differs from another consumers even in
the same situation. For example, though both the interviewed consumers used Sensodyne
toothpaste to treat the issue of bleeding gums, the first consumer continued to use the product
while the second consumer discontinued its use. One can point out in this respect that fifth stage
namely, evaluative stage is the most important stage. Thus is because at this stage consumers
decide to use or not use particular products based on the experienced gained. It is this stage
which creates customer loyalty which enables companies to acquire loyal consumer bases which
generate steady business for them.
Conclusion:
One can conclude from the discussion that process of consumer purchase decision
making is an extremely complex process. The consumers take into account several criteria prior
to finally making the decision to purchase particular products. The take into account factors like
quality of the products and cost of the products. They also take into account the advices given by
friends, relatives and even experts like dentists in case of high involvement products like
Sensodyne. The customers also take into account reviews available on the internet platform
provided by previous and existing users of particular products. Business organizations in order to
attract and retain customers should take into account these criteria which go into making
purchase decisions to the feasible extent.

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References:
Amri, S. and Prihandono, D., 2019. Influence Lifestyle, Consumer Ethnocentrism, Product
Quality on Purchase Decision through Purchase Intention. Management Analysis Journal, 8(1),
pp.25-38.
Anninou, I. and Foxall, G.R., 2017. Consumer decision-making for functional foods: insights
from a qualitative study. Journal of Consumer Marketing.
Au.gsk.com. 2020. Au.Gsk.Com. [online] Available at: <https://au.gsk.com/en-au/products/our-
consumer-healthcare-products/oral-health/sensodyne/> [Accessed 8 April 2020].
Calder, B.J., Isaac, M.S. and Malthouse, E.C., 2016. How to capture consumer experiences: A
context-specific approach to measuring engagement: Predicting consumer behavior across
qualitatively different experiences. Journal of Advertising Research, 56(1), pp.39-52.
Feldman, A., 2018. Forbes.Com. [online] Forbes.com. Available at:
<https://www.forbes.com/sites/amyfeldman/2018/03/29/taking-on-the-toothpaste-giants-how-
one-entrepreneur-built-a-fresh-20-million-brand/#370a40f04019> [Accessed 8 April 2020].
Goodman, J.K. and Paolacci, G., 2017. Crowdsourcing consumer research. Journal of Consumer
Research, 44(1), pp.196-210.
Goodman, J.K. and Paolacci, G., 2017. Crowdsourcing consumer research. Journal of Consumer
Research, 44(1), pp.196-210.
Gsk.com. 2020. Gsk.Com. [online] Available at: <https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/products/our-
consumer-healthcare-products/oral-health/sensodyne/> [Accessed 8 April 2020].

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Karimi, S., Holland, C.P. and Papamichail, K.N., 2018. The impact of consumer archetypes on
online purchase decision-making processes and outcomes: A behavioural process
perspective. Journal of Business Research, 91, pp.71-82.
Limpo, L., Rahim, A. and Hamzah, H., 2018. Effect of product quality, price, and promotion to
purchase decision. International Journal on Advanced Science, Education, and Religion, 1(1),
pp.9-22.
Sunaga, T., Park, J. and Spence, C., 2016. Effects of lightness‐location congruency on
consumers’ purchase decision‐making. Psychology & Marketing, 33(11), pp.934-950.

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Appendix: Interview transcript:
Customer 1.
Question 1. What triggered you to buy Sensodyne toothpaste?
Answer. I was suffering from bleeding gum for quite some time. I tried to deal with the problem
using my regular toothpaste. It failed to solve the purpose and the problem intensified. I had to
consult a dentist. It was he who recommended using toothpaste especially formulated to fight
bleeding gums.
Question 2. How much time did you take make the decision to buy Sensodyne?
Answer. I took some time. Well, the need was felt. I spoke to my friends and relatives. I
consulted the internet and finally decided to buy Sensodyne.
Question 3. How did you evaluate the decision of yours to purchase Sensodyne?
Answer. Obviously based on the benefits I have gained. My bleeding gums are gone and oral
health has improved a lot.
Question 4. Are you still using the product even today?
Answer. Yes. It’s a habitual purchase now.
Customer 2.
Question 1. What triggered you to buy Sensodyne toothpaste?
Answer. I had bleeding gums. I visited the dentist and he recommended use of Sensodyne.

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Question 2. How much time did you take make the decision to buy Sensodyne?
Answer. I bought it the following day after consulting my relatives a bit. I did some online
research though.
Question 3. How did you evaluate the decision of yours to purchase Sensodyne?
Answer. It’s a nice product. The bleeding gums has been cured totally.
Question 4. Are you still using the product even today?
Answer. No. I will use it again if the problem would arise in the future.