Consumer Behaviour: Analysis of Decision Making Criteria and Key Insights

This report provides an analysis of consumer decision making criteria and key insights based on a consumer's weekly shopping list. The report covers nominal, limited, and extended decision making, and includes a case study on the purchase of a Toyota Yaris car.

Running head: CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Executive Summary
Consumer decision making is considered to be a huge aspect of any firm`s offering. This is
because the company generally produces and markets its good in anticipation of consumer
demand and for this reason, it is very important to have a broad idea about the psychology of the
consumers before any step is taken by the firm. A consumer made various purchases throughout
a particular week and tracked them alongside providing data on these purchases made. The
report throws light on the various aspects of a consumer decision making. The report follows a
structured format which aims to introduce the topic, followed by a brief overview of the
consumer profile.
The brief overview is followed by an analysis of the decision making of the consumer based on
the decision making criteria and the importance or relevance of the product to the consumer. The
key findings from the key analysis stated that, consumers are largely driven by Social needs and
the quality which the products provide to the different needs of the consumers. Out of the
purchases made by the customer only the high involvement comprised of the self actualization
needs whereas approximately 50% of the purchases of the daily grocery list were dependent
upon the social needs.

2CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Description of the consumer............................................................................................................3
Analysis of the purchase behavior...............................................................................................5
Nominated product- Description and analysis...............................................................................10
Comparing the decision making for the two different weeks purchases and the nominated
products..........................................................................................................................................12
Key insights...................................................................................................................................13
References:....................................................................................................................................15
Bibliogaphy....................................................................................................................................17
Appendix........................................................................................................................................19

3CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Introduction
Consumers are rational beings and generally take a wide variety of decisions in order to
purchase a particular product. However, this is not the case for all kinds of products and the
consumers generally imply a tougher decision making criteria when they are considering the
product purchase of a higher involvement.
The given report aims to throws light on one such consumer behaviour and the decisions
made based on the weekly shopping list of the consumer. The purchases made are for the week
30th March to 5th April 2018. The report will provide a brief analysis of the consumer profile
which is then followed by the decision making faced by the consumer with respect to the weekly
shopping list (Armstrong et al., 2015). The decisions will be analyzed and categorized and
compared with the ones with high involvement. The primary purpose of the report is to highlight
how consumers tend to make decisions for the purchase and what factors they are guided by.
Description of the consumer
The given section will be providing a brief on the consumer and I will be following a
systematic structure to describe myself before I begin to analyze the shopping which was done.
Demographics:
Age 22
Gender Female
Marital Status Single
Family Nuclear Family with 4 members
Education Level Graduate

4CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Income $2000 per annum
Occupation Part time free lancer
Generational Cohort Generation Y as date of birth IS 1995.
Value Segment Using the Roy Morgan`s Value Segments, I believe that I belong
to the category of `Young Optimism`. This category of individuals
is driven by optimism and they seek to improve their prospective
so that they are able to seek a respectable place in the society. This
aspect is most likely to be found among the younger generation.
The given segments are mostly into image and style.
The given segment is extremely conscious about their image and
they aim to project themselves as the righteous one They are long
term thinkers and they aim to plan their careers and jump to
various aspects in order to ensure that they are able to experience
all realms of life which include travelling, building a career,
enjoying with friends and family.
They are the experimental generation who want to try everything
from bungy jumping to skiing to trying new flavors, styles and
tastes (Young Optimism, 2018). They are highly interested in
technology and surf the internet to make most of their purchasing
decisions.

5CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Therefore, from the given analysis it can be observed that the given consumer segment is
very experimental in nature. They want to experience new styles and tasted. They are the
primary target segments of the marketers as they tend to purchase almost everything and in
adequate quantities. The given segment is largely attracted by the digital marketing techniques
and organizations can target them suing these techniques.
Analysis of the purchase behavior
Even for a very simple purchase being made, the consumers put behind a wide range of
thought processes which tend to have an impact on the decision making process of the different
purchases. Many buyers buy certain products at the spur of the moment based on the emotional
aspect of the product. The decision made by the consumer may also be well thought and well
defined. According to Weinstein and Pohlman (2015), the given processes are generally present
for the decision making:
Nominal
The normal decisions are generally made keeping in mind the low cost products. These
decisions are generally based on frequent purchases, familiar brand or a produce and the
purchase requires almost little or nor effort. These decisions are generally made with respect to
products like brand of milk, detergent, spices, oils and others (Baker &Saren, 2016). For
instance, if a consumer has to purchase a laundry powder or suppose a dish wash bar then they
will not be spending much time researching on the brand and instead they will be just purchasing
it without any second thought. However, the normal decision making process is not casual during
its initial phases and at the beginning of the phase, the consumer may have faced research and
queries while making a decision. In case of a laundry detergent powder, the consumer may have

6CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
searched upon aspects like smell, soft aspect and others. After the given procedure, when the
product which has to be purchased becomes repeated, the consumer loyalty towards a particular
brand tends to increase and the decision becomes nominal.
However, it needs to be noted that, the organizations need to not put too much effort
behind the marketing of the product because that would lead to a negative impact on the minds
of the consumers and as the customers purchase the product on a general impulse, they need not
be continuously reminded about the given product (Bresler &Lubbe, 2014). Marketers just need
to ensure that the product to be purchased is available and the right pricing structure is followed
for it.
Application to the Shopping List:
It can be stated that the given products from the shopping list fall under the given
category:
 The apples from Coles $ 20.5
 The bananas purchased from Coles $10.5
 The Colgate toothpaste $40
 Rice from Nepalese grocery $ 20
 Petrol from Caltex $100
 Phone bill from Vodafone $400
Limited
The limited decision making involves higher involvement than that of nominal decision
making. However it does not necessarily involve in depth research. These decisions are generally

7CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
made for the mid cost products. These purchases are not made that regularly and the brand from
where it is purchased is familiar. However, they do require involvement and searching from the
point of view of the consumers.
When customers are bound to make the limited decisions then they consider the cost as
well as time aspect to ponder over there purchase but might not take online sites as reviews
(Stead &Stead, 2013). The just tend to rely on their memory of the product and make decisions
based on the inferences.
For example, if a customer wants to purchase a given brand of juice and visits the store
but instead observes that another juice has some offer and that although it is a bit expensive but it
does taste well, then the customer might go on with the alternate juice. It can be stated that the
limited decisions which are made do lack loyalty and the reason behind this may be boredom or
choice of using a new product.
The marketers will be required to examine the data before they are advertising their
products and the data is to be examined based on the following:
 Product quality
 Product availability
 Price
 Packaging style
After the given has been analyzed, the brands can then set their promotional activities.

8CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
After carefully examining this information, brands can change their promotional activities
and product development that will accentuate the benefits of the product, and make it less likely
that people will choose something else.
Application to shopping list
 Donuts from the Coles $50
 Meals from hungry jacks$ 40
 Wai Wai noodles $30
 Pizza$ 100
 Water bill $ 100
 Beer $70
 Aloevera $20
 Meat $60
 Coffee $ 80
 Meals from charcoal $90
Extended Decision-Making
The extended decision making is generally made with respect to the high cost and higher
quality products. These purchases which are made are generally infrequent in nature and indulge
involvement of decisions and center on unfamiliar brands and products. The customer is
generally required to put behind time and effort to ensure that the decision which has been made
is correct and right for them.
The particular kind of decision making is generally done for the customers who tend to
purchase the electronics like televisions, cars and mobile phones (Burns, Bush &Sinha, 2014).

9CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
They indulge in time and effort engagement because the marketers want to ensure that the
decision which is taken by them is based on their requirements and are correct for them.
Customers generally have certain amount of risks during this decision making and therefore the
time frame for the particular decision is quite high. Peer views are a large determinant of the
purchasing decisions of this type. It is in this case, that the customers tend to take reviews and
testimonials.
Application to Shopping List
The extended decision making product purchased Toyota Yaris Car which is priced at an average
of $18000.
Analysis
Hence, from the given observed purchase behaviour of the customer and the data
collected, it could be observed that the customer has spent the largest amount of money on the
phone bill. The customer has made a purchase of around $400 on the given bill. This is a need as
the consumer is away from his home and needs to contact the different associates. Secondly, the
next highest purchase is made on Petrol of $100. It can be observed that the consumer has made
nominal purchases on food items and midlevel purchases of the other need like phone and petrol
The high involvement purchase made by the customer has not been considered in the
given section. It was observed that the majority of the purchased made by the consumer are
based on food items amounting to $550 dollars which is 50% of the total amount spent on
grocery.

10CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Nominated product- Description and analysis
The nominated product with high involvement is the product named Toyota Yaris. The
Toyota Yaris is a subcompact car which is produced by Toyota since the year 1999 and the given
model replaced the startlet model.
The given car is purchased for the purpose of travelling. The given product was purchase
by me one year back and the color of the car was Red. The given product was purchased after
varied amount of decision making and references from peer groups and families.
The decision making followed for the given product is as follows:
Figure1: The decision making process of the consumer (Source: Trainor et al., 2013)

11CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
In the first stage, the need was analyzed. From a long period of time the consumer had
been planning to purchase a product which would then help in her travelling needs from one
place to another (Sheth &Sisodia, 2015). When the need was arised, it was identified that the
given product would be the best one to be purchased.
Information research
The second stage involved researching the information on the varied sources available on
the net so as to identify the competitors of the product and to identify whether the qualities of the
other cars and their prices were similar to the given product or not.
Evaluation of Alternatives
A decision making chart was formed which involved evaluation of different alternatives.
These alternatives were judged on the basis of various components like quality of the car,
mileage, price additional features and others (Keller &Kotler, 2016).
Purchase
After the data had been analyzed, the final purchase is then made. The final purchase
which is made is on the basis of analyzing various alternatives.
Post purchase decisions
After the purchase has actually been made, the consumers then consider their choices
again and sometimes regret the decision which they undertake.
The given product of Toyota Yaris was a high involvement product. The given product
was based on the extended decision making. As stated earlier, the extended decision making

12CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
tends to involve, a large amount of alternatives evaluation and research. The kind of decision
making generally involves decisions based on varied alternatives like price, quality and other
metrics. The customers are generally willing to take risks for these kinds of products.
Size Large
Colour Red
Price 18000$
Comparing the decision making for the two different weeks purchases and the nominated
products
The comparison between the two different decision making matrices is as follows:
First of all, the products that were included in the shopping list and related to grocery
primarily involved Nominal and Limited Decision Making. However, the purchase of the high
involvement product involved extended decision making.
Secondly, for the shopping list items based on grocery items, the peer pressure and social
circle impact is very less and the decision making generally involves taking decisions from daily
usage (Khodakarami &Chan, 2014). Whereas for the car purchased, the decision making was
impacted by the different social group impacts.
Thirdly, the risk of purchase in the grocery items is very less when compared to the
purchase of the items which is made in case of the purchase of a high involvement product from
the given market.

13CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Next, for the grocery products whereby the decision making is based on nominal or
limited, the customers generally do not indulge in comparison or testimonials and their approach
is very crucial. The purchase of the Wai Wai or petrol or for that matter the Pringles chips was
base on Nominal or Limited Research and decision making unlike the purchase of the car. The
Toyota Yaris involved extended decision making as it was a high involvement product. The high
involvement products generally involve high reference to testimonials and their related
documents.
Lastly, in case of the purchase of the grocery items, costs do not play a huge role as a
determinant of the purchase of a product. There are various brands present in the market and a
purchase from one with a slightly higher price does not have an impact on the other. However,
when the purchase regarding the high involvement luxurious good like a Car is made, the price
plays a huge role.
Key insights
The key insights of the decision making which was done using the shopping list and
plotting them on different bar graphs are as follows:
The consumers are driven by quality. A majority of the decision making is done with
respect to the quality required by the customers. Hence, the decision makers can learn that the
decision making is generally based on quality and if the marketers are able to provide quality to
the customers then they will be able to succeed. According to the bar graph attached, around
50% of purchases are determined by quality.
Tastes tend to determine 5% of the purchases in case of food products and choice. This is the
reason it is very important for a firm to concentrate on the taste. Purchase is determined by the

14CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
background of the customer, if the customer is from a well to do background then price does not
matter. Quality is the key. It was also observed that once the consumers have formed a particular
notion about the purchase of a particular product, it is difficult to change that perspective about
the given product and re-branding does not help.
A majority of purchases made on the list are based on self actualization needs and esteem
needs. This is a typical characteristic of the Young Optimists which was the segment of the given
consumers. Social pressure is also a major determinant of the decision to be made.
Table 1: Count of Major Purchasing Factors
Row Labels Sum of Cost
Change/alternative 25.9
Convenience 137.35
Health 363
Price 6
Quality 718.9
Taste 54.65
Grand Total 1305.8
Table 2: Count of Motivational Needs
Row Labels Sum of Cost
Esteem 57.3
Psychological 355
Safety 30
Self Actualisation 93.7
Social 769.8
Grand Total 1305.8
Therefore, from the given analysis it can be stated that the consumer is truly the key
component of the decision making which is made by the firms. The firms need to ensure that all

15CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
their moves are directed towards the decisions of the consumers. Their psychology behind it and
the demand which is placed by them matters. If the firm is successful in taking such decisions
then they will be quite successful in the given market.
The decision making process, as discussed may be of various kinds namely limited
Nominal and the extended. The decision type that we generally make on a daily basis is the
decision making related to the nominal decisions. These decisions are made on the spur of the
moment without much thought. The mid level products are generally made with reference to the
limited research where consumers are bound to make decisions which will involve certain
research. Lastly the extended decision making is suitable for the high involvement luxurious
products as they comprise of risk factors.
The given report highlighted the profile of the consumer followed by the analysis of the
decision making behind the shopping list. This was followed by an analysis of the decision
making related to the high involvement product and the purchase of the Toyota car. A
comparison between the two had been made along with Key Insights on the purchases.
References:
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. & Brennan, R. (2015). Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson Education.
Baker, M.J. &Saren, M. eds. (2016). Marketing theory: a student text. Sage.
Bresler, M. &Lubbe, I. (2014). Marketing management.
Burns, A.C., Bush, R.F. &Sinha, N. (2014). Marketing research (Vol. 7). Boston, MA, USA:
Pearson.

16CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Keller, K.L. &Kotler, P. (2016). Marketing management. Pearson.
Khodakarami, F. &Chan, Y.E. (2014). Exploring the role of customer relationship management
(CRM) systems in customer knowledge creation. Information & Management, 51(1),
pp.27-42.
Sheth, J.N. &Sisodia, R.S. (2015). Does marketing need reform?: Fresh perspectives on the
future. Routledge.
Stead, J.G. &Stead, W.E. (2013). Sustainable strategic management. ME Sharpe.
Trainor, K.J., Andzulis, J.M., Rapp, A. &Agnihotri, R. (2014). Social media technology usage
&customer relationship performance: A capabilities-based examination of social
CRM. Journal of Business Research, 67(6), pp.1201-1208.
Weinstein, A. &Pohlman, R.A. (2015). Customer value: a new paradigm for marketing
management. In Proceedings of the 1997 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual
Conference (pp. 132-133). Springer, Cham.
Young Optimism. (2018). Roy Morgan. Retrieved 18 April 2018, from
http://www.roymorgan.com/products/values-segments/young-optimism

17CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Bibliogaphy
Chernev, A. (2018). Strategic marketing management. Cerebellum Press.
Choudhury, M.M. &Harrigan, P. (2014). CRM to social CRM: the integration of new
technologies into customer relationship management. Journal of Strategic
Marketing, 22(2), pp.149-176.
Coombes, P.H. &Nicholson, J.D. (2013). Business models &their relationship with marketing: A
systematic literature review. Industrial Marketing Management, 42(5), pp.656-664.
Foxall, G. (2014). Strategic Marketing Management (RLE Marketing) (Vol. 3). Routledge.
Goetsch, D.L. &Davis, S.B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Gronroos, C. (2016). Service Management &Marketing: Managing the Service Profit Logic.
John Wiley & Sons.
Hollensen, S. (2015). Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education
Limited.

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Solomon, M. R., Dahl, D. W., White, K., Zaichkowsky, J. L., & Polegato, R. (2014). Consumer
behavior: Buying, having, &being (Vol. 10). Pearson.
Cantallops, A. S., & Salvi, F. (2014). New consumer behavior: A review of research on eWOM
&hotels. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 36, 41-51.
Li, S., Linn, J., & Muehlegger, E. (2014). Gasoline taxes &consumer behavior. American
Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 6(4), 302-42.
Zhao, H. H., Gao, Q., Wu, Y. P., Wang, Y., & Zhu, X. D. (2014). What affects green consumer
behavior in China? A case study from Qingdao. Journal of Cleaner Production, 63, 143-151.
Hawkins, D. I., Mothersbaugh, D. L., & Best, R. J. (2013). Consumer behavior: Building
marketing strategy. McGraw-Hill Irwin.

19CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Appendix
1 Apple Store Coles
$
20.50
2 Banana Store Coles
$
10.50
3 Rice Store Nepalese
$
20.00
4 Donuts store coles
$
50.00
5 meals
Restauran
t
Hungry
Jacks
$
40.00
6
Wai Wai
Noodles store Nepalese
$
30.00
7 Pizza
Restauran
t Dominos
$
100.00
8 Beer Store coles
$
70.00
9 Meat
Restauran
t
coleburg
halal
$
60.00

20CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
10 coffee Store
seven
eleven
$
80.00
11 meals
Restauran
t charcoal
$
60.00
$
541.00
1
Colgate
toothpaste Store Coles
$
40.00
2 Petrol Station Catlex
$
100.00
3 Phone bill Internet vodafone
$
400.00
4 Water bill Internet Land Lord
$
100.00
5 Aloevera Store coles
$
20.00
$
660.00
$

21CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
1,201.00
Food
45%
Non food
55%
Distribution of Purchase decison
6%
15%
61%
15%
3%
Non food items purchased
1 2 3 4 5

22CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
1
4% 2
2% 3
4%
4
9% 5
7%
6
6%
7
18%
8
13%
9
11%
10
15%
11
11%
food items purchased