Consumer Behaviour and Decision Making: A Comprehensive Study

This study provides a comprehensive understanding of consumer behaviour and decision making process. It covers the concept of consumer behaviour, model of consumer decision making, value of mapping a path to purchase, different levels of consumer decision-making, four views of consumer decision-making, and factors influencing decision-making.

Marketing
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1. Concept of consumer behaviour:
Consumer buying behaviour is a part of observational activity, which is conducted to
study the approaches of customers that they perceive before purchasing a particular product or
services from an organization. Before buying a product, the customers intend to receive several
ideas or overviews about the product or services. In today’s business scenario and dynamic
progress of globalization, the needs and demands of the customers are changing gradually
(Govindan et al. 2015). Consumers’ buying behaviour is highly dependent on how business
experts intend to introduce their brands and services in the market. With the advancement of new
technology, the experts always intend to introduce their brands through social media platforms so
that customers from other geographical market can easily views the products. As a result, it can
easily reflect on the consumers’ buying behaviour (Karimi, Papamichail and Holland 2015). In
another point of view, the consumers’ purchasing behaviour is highly dependent on product
design, price, promotional methods, packaging, and positioning system arranged by the
organization.
2. Model of consumer decision making:
Consumers’ decision-making is implied with five major stages. Before purchasing a
particular product or services, the customers have to get challenges in choosing the right
products for fulfilling their needs and demands (Wolny and Charoensuksai 2014). Five stages of
consumer decision-making process is a systematic model, which helps the business experts in
selecting the right products and services for them.
 Problem recognition:

In this very specific stage, the customers feel for the need of a particular product, which
they tend to purchase immediately. In the phase of this problem recognition, the customers tend
to select the brand so that they can purchase the products (Rani 2014). This very specific stage is
the initial phase from where the customers’ decision making process of highly dependent.
 Information search:
After selecting the brand and services, customers intend search necessary information
regarding brand quality and their method of services (Chiu et al. 2014). Social media, traditional
media are the necessary platforms from where information can be gathered. While collecting in-
depth research on the products, customers generally focus on product design, packaging, product
components and so on.
 Alternative evaluation:
If the information collected from different resources comes as a positive the customers,
buying behaviour is also portrayed as a positive response. On the other hand, if the market
reviews fails to satisfy consumers’ purchasing behaviour they decide to go for alternative option.
The customers then decide to change their brands for purchasing the same products (Wen et al.
2014).
 Purchase decision:
Purchasing decision is highly dependent on two previous stages mentioned above. If the
information collected from different media tools seem to be positive the customers’ intend to
show their positive purchasing decision (Shende 2014). On the other hand, if the business experts
fail to grab the customers of customers, they cannot influence their buying behaviour. Therefore,

customers’ purchasing decision is highly focused on the approaches introduced by the business
experts.
Post-purchase behaviour:
Post purchasing behaviour is the phase when customers share their point of view
regarding their overall impression about the product or services. Post purchasing behaviour may
be positive or negative which completely depends on the customers’ perception about the brands.
In some cases, the customers after making market review and product data get influences in
buying the product (Raheem, Vishnu and Ahmed 2014). After purchasing the products their
behaviour towards the products completely changes. Therefore, in this phase, the customers’
satisfaction rate is judged completely.
Figure: Five stages of consumer decision-making process
3. Value of mapping a path to purchase:

Every single market aims to improve their ability and service quality for influencing
brand relationship (Wang and Yu 2017). While influencing the mind of customers the business
experts enables the customers to follow a particular path of purchase, which can highly influence
their buying behaviour. “Path to purchase” is a map of five consecutive phases with which the
customers can purchase the products and make post-purchasing decision.
Figure: Value of mapping a path to purchase
This particular map is constituted with five major stages including being, starting,
exploring, buying and enjoying. Being is the very first phase where the customers can see on
how interested they are in purchasing a specific product (Rezaei 2015). Starting is the beginning
of journey where customers self-evaluate whether the purpose of purchasing is pre-planned or
impulsive. Exploring is the phase where the customers get opportunity to explore the brand
through numerous platforms and gain enough information about it. In this stage, the purchasing
behaviour of the customers is highly influenced (Solomon et al. 2017). Buying is the phase

where customers decide to purchase the brand and then enjoy its essence. This very specific path
is highly influential which directs the customers in purchasing the brand as well as its services.
4. Different levels of consumer decision-making:
In order to evaluate the levels of consumers’ decision making the study can critically
evaluate three most significant levels of customers decision making (Kim et al. 2015). The three
important levels include extensive problem solving, limited problem solving and routine problem
solving.
Extensive problem solving is the very preliminary stage where the consumers have superficial
conception about the brand or its services (Wolny and Charoensuksai 2014). In this phase, the
consumers have to face immense challenges in taking effective decision about buying the
products.
Limited problem solving is the phase where the customers are well aware about the brand and its
services but they are confused in deciding whether they should go for purchasing the brand or
not.
Routine problem solving is the phase where the customers are aware of the brands with in-depth
information and they have showed a positive response towards their purchasing behaviour (Rani
2014).
5. Four views of consumer decision-making:
There are several kinds of customers belonging to different psychological and economic
backgrounds. In order to purchase a product four significant views of customers play more

important role. Therefore, the business experts while selling their products have to focus on these
four different views.
Economic view is a type of customers’ decision who decides in purchasing a brand as per the
brands’ price range, value cost, profitability in terms of cost and quality (Shende 2014). If the
purchasing power of the customer is low and affordability power of product is high, the customer
cannot purchase the product.
In the phase of cognitive view, consumers in general are pictured as either receptive to or
actively reluctant in purchasing the product (Rezaei 2015). In this kind of dwindling situation,
the business experts have to make an impressive outlet of the brand so that customer’ purchasing
behaviour is positively influenced.
Emotional view is another phase where the customers tend to purchase the product as per
product design and outlet even though they have less purchasing power.
Passive view of the customers comes from complete rationalism where the customers judge
product and service quality before purchasing a brand. This kind of people generally belongs to
premium cost of customers who belong to high-income status (Wang and Yu 2017). If the brand
quality can impress the customers, they showed a positive response towards their purchasing
behaviour.
6. Factors influencing decision-making:
While evaluating the factors of consumer’s decision making it can be stated that
consumers’ decision-making is implied with five major stages. Before purchasing a particular
product or services, the customers have to get challenges in choosing the right products for

fulfilling their needs and demands. Purchasing decision is highly dependent on two previous
stages mentioned above. If the information collected from different media tools seem to be
positive the customers’ intend to show their positive purchasing decision (Wolny and
Charoensuksai 2014). While influencing the mind of customers the business experts enables the
customers to follow a particular path of purchase, which can highly influence their buying
behaviour. In order to evaluate the levels of consumers’ decision making the study can critically
evaluate three most significant levels of customers decision making. The three important levels
include extensive problem solving, limited problem solving and routine problem solving.
Apart from these decision making model mentioned above there are two more factors,
which can highly influence customers decision towards purchasing a product. The factors are as
follows:
New technological implementation:
In today’s technological intervention, customers are no more interested in observing
traditional media platforms for getting in-depth overview about the brands as well as services.
With the emergence of technology the needs and demands of social media is very high which
immensely influence customers’ purchasing power (Shende 2014). In such a work environment,
the organizational experts tend to promote their products through Facebook, Instagram, Youtube
for gaining social media popularity. Social media in current business scenario is such a platform
which people of numerous cultural and religious backgrounds can avail. As a result, their
decision making power is highly influenced (Rani 2014).
Marketing mix:

4ps of marketing mix is also very responsible for making effective decision of product
purchasing and consumers’ buying behaviour.
 Product should be superior quality, which can easily impress customers’ attention.
 Price should be affordable for the target customers for influence their purchasing behaviour.
 The place of the brand should have both online and offline flexibility so that people from
different age group and psychological backgrounds can avail products.
 In today’s business scenario, online media promotion is the best way to draw the attention of
customers.

Reference List:
Chiu, C.M., Wang, E.T., Fang, Y.H. and Huang, H.Y., 2014. Understanding customers' repeat
purchase intentions in B2C e‐commerce: the roles of utilitarian value, hedonic value and
perceived risk. Information Systems Journal, 24(1), pp.85-114.
Govindan, K., Rajendran, S., Sarkis, J. and Murugesan, P., 2015. Multi criteria decision making
approaches for green supplier evaluation and selection: a literature review. Journal of Cleaner
Production, 98, pp.66-83.
Karimi, S., Papamichail, K.N. and Holland, C.P., 2015. The effect of prior knowledge and
decision-making style on the online purchase decision-making process: A typology of consumer
shopping behaviour. Decision Support Systems, 77, pp.137-147.
Kim, J., Kim, K.H., Garrett, T.C. and Jung, H., 2015. The contributions of firm innovativeness to
customer value in purchasing behavior. Journal of product innovation management, 32(2),
pp.201-213.
Raheem, A.R., Vishnu, P. and Ahmed, A.M., 2014. Impact of product packaging on consumer’s
buying behavior. European journal of scientific research, 122(2), pp.125-134.
Rani, P., 2014. Factors influencing consumer behaviour. International journal of current
research and academic review, 2(9), pp.52-61.
Rezaei, S., 2015. Segmenting consumer decision-making styles (CDMS) toward marketing
practice: A partial least squares (PLS) path modeling approach. Journal of Retailing and
Consumer Services, 22, pp.1-15.

Shende, V., 2014. Analysis of research in consumer behavior of automobile passenger car
customer. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 4(2), p.1.
Solomon, M.R., White, K., Dahl, D.W., Zaichkowsky, J.L. and Polegato, R., 2017. Consumer
behavior: Buying, having, and being. Boston, MA, USA:: Pearson.
Wang, Y. and Yu, C., 2017. Social interaction-based consumer decision-making model in social
commerce: The role of word of mouth and observational learning. International Journal of
Information Management, 37(3), pp.179-189.
Wen, C., R. Prybutok, V., Blankson, C. and Fang, J., 2014. The role of E-quality within the
consumer decision making process. International Journal of Operations & Production
Management, 34(12), pp.1506-1536.
Wolny, J. and Charoensuksai, N., 2014. Mapping customer journeys in multichannel decision-
making. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 15(4), pp.317-326.