Understanding Consumer Behavior: Analysis of Decision-Making Process and Psychological Influences

In this document we will discuss about Understanding Consumer Behavior and below are the summary points of this document:- The report analyzes consumer decision-making process and its stages, focusing on Zara as the case study. Psychological influences and external environmental factors on consumer behavior are examined. The report provides recommendations for implementing sustainable operations to influence consumer behavior.

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

1CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS
Executive Summary
The report is built on the analysis of the consumer decision making based process based on
five different stages. The organization that has been taken into consideration is Zara. Zara is a
fast fashion based company that operates in different countries of the world. The effect of
psychological influences and external environment based factors on the operations of
different organizations has been analysed in the report in detail. The report has been able to
provide a detailed explanation based on different stages of consumer behaviour. Five stages
of consumer behaviour include, need or problem recognition, information search, evaluation
of the alternatives, purchase based decision and post purchase behaviour. The different stages
of the consumer behaviour based process and the ways by which the stages are affected by
the psychological factors are important parts of the analysis that has been made in the report.
The demographic profiles of the target customers are also a major part of the analysis that has
been made in the report. The recommendations that are provided to the company are based on
implementation of sustainable operations in the organization. The implementation of
sustainability will be able to influence the behaviour of consumers of the organization in a
huge manner.

2CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
Company and product description.................................................................................3
Description of the key target customers and the demographic profiles.........................4
Consumer behaviour definition......................................................................................6
Analysis based on five stages of consumer decision making process...........................7
Key recommendations..................................................................................................11
Conclusion....................................................................................................................12
References....................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Consumer behaviour is considered to be a study of the individuals, groups, consumers
or organizations to select, buy, use and further dispose the ideas, goods and the services for
the purpose of satisfying the wants and needs. This is based on the actions that are undertaken
by the customers in a marketplace and different basic motives for actions. The study related
to consumer behaviour considers the customers as actors in a marketplace. The consumers are
thereby able to play different roles in the marketplace based on the products and services that
are offered to them (Alavi et al. 2016). The roles played by consumers can change in different
situations and the levels of complexity of the study is increased in the process.
The report will be based on the analysis of different stages that are a part of the
consumer decision making process. The analysis will be related to ways by which different
internal factors are able to affect decisions that are made by the consumers. The situational
factors are also considered to be an important part of the factors that can influence the
process. The organization that has been considered for the analysis is Zara.
Company and product description
Zara SA is a fast fashion based Spanish clothing retailer that is based in Arteixo in
Galicia. The company was established in the year 1975 by Rosalia Mera and Amancio
Ortega. This is considered to be the most significant brand in Inditex Group, which is also the
biggest retailer in the world. The fashion group thereby includes different brands like,
Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius. Zara has managed around 20 clothing
based brands in the year 2017 (Zarahome.com 2019). The international expansion of Zara
had started in the year 1988 with the help of its first international stores in Portugal. Zara
entered the United States in the year 1989 and it further expanded its international operations

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in Mexico, Belgium, Greece and Sweden. The online boutique of Zara was established in the
year 2010 (Zarahome.com 2019).
The different products that are offered by Zara mainly include, clothing based items
for men and women and children’s clothing as well. The products that are supplied by Zara
are mainly based on the different consumer trends and responsive supply chain based
activities of the organization (Zarahome.com 2019). The products of Zara take around fifteen
days in order to reach different retail stores. The distribution based centre of Zara is located
in Spain and the new items are reviewed, organized, tagged and further loaded into the trucks
after the manufacturing operations have been completed in different areas (Anker et al.
2015).
Description of the key target customers and the demographic profiles
The major target market of Zara in the fashion retail industry include men and women
who belong to the age group of 18 to 40 years who have mid-range based incomes. The target
consumers of the organization are highly trend conscious and fashion forward in nature. The
customers of Zara mainly reside in the urban areas of different countries in which the
organization provides the products. The target customers of Zara purchase the products for
themselves and for their children as well. The consumers are thereby highly sensitive towards
the latest fashion based trends that can be provided to them at affordable prices (Chen et al.
2017).
The demographic profile of the target market of Zara are the young adults whose age
group ranges between the mid 20’s and the mid 30’s. The consumers who belong to this age
group aim at dressing up in a mature way. This is considered to be a mature version of H&M
and the fast fashion related industry is able to affect the target customers. The customers who
belong to the target profile group mainly believe in the current trends based on fashion and

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pop culture. Different merchandises that are a part of the target customer group include, khaki
shorts, chinos, leather shoes and jackets (Chen 2017).
The fast fashion based organizations are able to target the younger generations as the
manufacturing process of clothing based accessories is considered to be affordable in nature.
The younger generations can shop from the retail stores od Zara in an effective manner. Zara
tries to develop the products in such a manner which is able to attract the consumers who
follow the pop culture. The organization mainly concentrates on the affordability and
quantity of the products that are offered to the customers rather than the quality. The
segmentation process that has been implemented by Zara is demographic in nature and is able
to divide the customers into different target groups (Claudy, Garcia and O’Driscoll 2015).
The products that are designed by Zara are mainly related to the psychographic view
of lifestyle of consumers. Different products of Zara are designed in such a manner which is
able to combine various activities of the organization for understanding the behaviour of the
consumers. Various segments that are a part of the market targeted by the organization
include, consumers who belong to the age group between 18 to 40 years with middle level
incomes. The lifestyle segmentation process is used for the purpose of analysing the hectic
lifestyle and plus sized garments which are required by them (Dessart, Veloutsou and
Morgan-Thomas 2015).
Introduction of the new products of Zara are based on the changing needs of the
consumers and their capacity of spending money. The products of the organization are
thereby able to provide immediate reaction to the different trends that are a part of the
market. On the other hand, suppliers and designers of the organization are also important for
the ways by which the consumer demographics of Zara can be maintained in an effective
manner. The consumer demographics based profile of Zara is based on the speed with which

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the products are offered to the consumers and amount of money which they can spend on the
products as well (East et al. 2016).
Consumer behaviour definition
Consumer behaviour can be defined as the psychological process which leads to the
decision that has been made by the consumers based on the products or services that are
being offered to them. The behaviour and decision making process of consumers are affected
by different factors which help them to take decisions related to the products they wish to
buy. The psychological factors including personal thinking based process which include,
personality, motivation, attitude of the consumers and perception are able to impact the
decisions that are made by the consumers and organizations as well (Godey et al. 2016).
The internal factors that are able to impact the decision making process of
organizations include, lifestyle, demographics, motivation, personality, attitude and beliefs.
The external factors that are able to influence the decisions of consumers further include,
culture, reference groups, race, social status, marketing mix, family, culture, race. The
consumers play a key role in making the business organizations. The appropriate marketing
strategies are established by the companies with the help of behaviour that is depicted by the
target audience. Issues based on the thinking and rationalizing process of the consumers are
able to affect the strategies which are developed by organizations (Hu and Jasper 2015).
Consumer behaviour is used by the organizations in order to develop an effective
connection with the customers and increase the levels of loyalty. The behaviour of the
consumers is affected by different types of factors that include, personal factors,
psychological factors and cultural factors. These factors are able to affect the ways by which
consumers behave towards a particular product or service offered to them by the
organizations (Karimi, Papamichail and Holland 2015).

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Analysis based on five stages of consumer decision making process
The Consumer Decision Making Process is considered to be a method that is used by
the marketers in order to identify and further track the process of decision making that is
considered to be an important part of the journey of the customers. The process related
decision making of consumers is divided into five major stages which are able to provide a
detailed description of the entire journey of consumers that starts from recognition of their
needs to purchasing the products (Kumar et al. 2016). The five major stages of consumer
decision making process can be used by Zara in order to analyse the needs and demands of its
consumers in the following manner,
1) Need or problem recognition – The identification of recognition of needs is
considered to be the most important stage of the consumer decision making
process. The acquisition of a product is not possible without proper
recognition of the needs of consumers. The internal and external stimuli are
mainly responsible for triggering the needs of consumers. Psychological
factors are able to play the most important part in the methods by which
consumers are able to recognize their needs (Liang, Liu and Liu 2018). Zara is
an company that belongs to the fast fashion based industry. The consumers
who are a part of the fast fashion industry have specific types of attitudes for
the products that are offered by the organizations. The attitudes of consumers
are able to play a main part in recognizing the needs of consumers of Zara.
The perceptions of the consumers are considered to be an important part of the
need recognition based process of the organizations (Pappas 2016). The
insights that the consumers of Zara have based on the product offerings are
able to play a major part in the methods by which the organizations can
function. The awareness of needs of consumers is important for the ways by

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which the consumers are able to make a choice based on the products that they
wish to purchase. The advertising based process of the organizations is also
able to play a key role in the need recognition based process (Prentice and
Loureiro 2018).
2) Information search – The second phase of consumer decision making process
is related to the search for information related to different products and
services that are offered by the organization. The information related to
products that are offered by Zara are searched by the consumers in order to
make a decision based on the products that they wish to purchase. The search
related to information can be both external and internal as well. The internal
search of information based on the products is based on memory of the
consumers (Ramanathan, Subramanian and Parrott 2017). On the other hand,
the external search is based on individual differences and the environmental
influences as well. Different factors that can be considered to be a part of the
environmental influences include, social class, family, culture and friends. The
fast fashion based image that has been developed by Zara has a major impact
on the ways by which consumers are able to collect information based on
various products (Schuster 2015). The suggestions and advice that are
provided by friends and family of the consumers are considered to be
acceptable by them in order to make a decision based on their own shopping
related activities. The consumers of Zara are capable of receiving the
information based on different products that are offered from their internal as
well as the external sources as well. The differences in perceptions and
attitudes have a major impact on the purchase based decision that is taken by
the consumers (Sudha and Sheena 2017).

9CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS
3) Evaluation of the alternatives – The consumers tend to evaluate the
alternatives that are offered to them by the organization before they are able to
make the decision based on purchase of the actual product. The opinions are
provided to the customers based on purchase of appropriate products are
considered in order to decide the actual purchase. The evaluation of the variety
of products is considered to be important for the ways by which actual product
can be chosen by the consumers (Wang and Hazen 2016). The information
that has been collected by the consumers in previous stage is considered to be
an important factor which is able to affect the entire decision making based
process. Zara also offers a variety of products to the consumers and they need
to analyse the alternatives in an effective manner before the actual purchase
based decision has been taken. Different attributes of the products including,
size, quality, quantity and price are able to play a key part in taking the
purchase based decision (Xu and Chen 2017). The perceptions of the
consumers related to the products can also be considered to be important
factors that are able to impact the choice of the alternatives. The vast portfolio
of products that are offered to the consumers by Zara have a major impact on
the decisions that are taken by the consumers. The prices of the products are
able to affect the choice of alternatives that are made by the consumers
(Yacout and Vitell 2018).
4) Purchase based decision – This is an important phase of the consumer
decision making method which is related to the decision that is taken by the
consumers based on the products that they wish to purchase. The purchase
decision taken by the consumers are based on two major phases that include,
the choice of retailer type and the second phase is based on in-store choice that

10CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS
can be affected by the salespersons who are present in the stores. After the
evaluation has been completed in a successful manner, the action based on
purchase is taken by the organization (Zeugner-Roth, Žabkar and
Diamantopoulos 2015). The attitudes of consumers have a major level of
influence based on some external factors. The salespersons who are present in
the stores of Zara are able affect the purchase based decision that is taken by
the customers. The in-store purchase based phase is considered to be more
important for the operations and profitability levels of Zara (Zhang and
Benyoucef 2016). The organization is able to influence the perceptions of the
consumers and understand their attitudes with the help of the stores that have
been developed in diverse parts of the world. The interaction that is made by
the salesperson with the customers is an important part of the purchase
decision that is taken by them. The levels of interaction among the customers
are considered to be important for the ways by which loyal customers can be
developed by Zara in the industry (Zhang 2015).
5) Post-purchase behaviour – The post-purchase based behaviour that is
depicted by the consumers is also important for the organizations. This stage is
considered to be useful for the development of proper relationships with the
consumers. The organization is thereby able to maintain the loyalty levels of
consumer base with the help of post purchase service that is offered to them.
Zara uses the website of the organization in an effective manner in order to
develop a relationship with the consumers (Zhang and Benyoucef 2016). The
organization is known in the fast fashion industry for the relationships which
are maintained with the customers after the actual purchase has been made.
The satisfaction levels of the consumers can be analysed with the help of

11CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS
relations that are maintained with the organizations after purchase has been
made in a successful manner (Zeugner-Roth, Žabkar and Diamantopoulos
2015).
Key recommendations
The key recommendations that can be provided to Zara based on analysis of consumer
behaviour in a proper way is based on the ways by which the organization is able to
understand their needs and demands. The in-store based customers can be analysed by Zara
in an easier manner as compared to the online consumers. Zara can implement sustainability
in the supply chain of the organization. This will be helpful for the organization to improve
its reputation in the market. The organization will be able to develop an effective position
with the help of sustainability in different parts of the operations. The various processes in
which Zara can implement sustainability include, spinning and dyeing, manufacturing
process and use and disposal (Yacout and Vitell 2018).
The organization needs to develop partnerships in order to receive certifications that
are based on sustainability levels of the operations. The certifications related to sustainability
will play a major role in improving the reputation of the organization. Zara will thereby aim
at providing fast fashion based products that are manufactured in a sustainable manner. The
levels of sustainability are considered to be an important part of the organizations of
multinational organizations that currently operate in the market. This is able to play a key role
in the ways by which Zara can gain effective levels of revenues in the industry.
The sustainable operations related reputation of Zara will be able to influence the
decisions that are taken by the consumers. The consumers in modern environment tend to
prefer the purchase of products that are developed in a sustainable manner. The
environmental effects of the operations of modern organizations are considered to be

12CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS
important factors that can affect their reputation in a huge manner. The lifecycle of the
products which are offered to the customers are also dependent on the sustainable operations
of Zara in the fast fashion based industry.
Conclusion
The report can be settled by asserting that the consumer decision making process is
affected in a huge manner by the demographic profiles of the consumers. The psychological
influences have been able to affect the decision making process of the consumers in an
effective manner. The analysis of consumer decision making process is based on the five
stages based framework. The attitudes and the perceptions of the consumers are able to affect
the decisions which are taken by them. The consumers of an organization like Zara, are able
to take the decisions based on their attitudes and perceptions. The recommendation is based
on the ways by which manufacturing process can be made sustainable in nature which can
further improve the reputation of the organization and affect the decisions which are made by
the consumers as well.

13CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS
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