The Impact of Consumer Behavior on Business Decisions at Amazon

This essay examines the impact of consumer behavior on business decisions, focusing on a research article by Chen, Lee, and Yap (2017) that highlights how consumers with low environmental control tend to purchase more utilitarian products. The essay suggests that this behavior stems from a desire to compensate for a lack of control, with utilitarian products offering problem-solving solutions. It further explains how the 'control' sense is linked to power and autonomy, influencing the demand for high-status brands and unique products. Based on these findings, the essay recommends that Amazon Australia, facing a stagnant unemployment rate and control-depriving situations for consumers, should expand its retail category, partner with more manufacturers of daily-use products, introduce higher-priced utilitarian products to satisfy the need for status, and offer multiple brands to address the desire for autonomy.

Running head: IMPACT OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR ON BUSINESS DECISION
Title: Impact of Consumer Behavior on Business Decision (Script)
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1IMPACT OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR ON BUSINESS DECISION
Findings of the research article
According to Chen, Lee and Yap (2017), consumers who have low control of
environment tend to buy more number of utilitarian products than hedonic products. People with
such control-led motivations were found to perceive higher loss of control by purchasing
utilitarian products.
It has been also found that since the utilitarian products are there to solve the everyday
problem-solving solutions for consumers, hence those products are of higher demand. By
compensating for the lack of control, people find utilitarian products to be highly useful.
Finally, the ‘control’ sense among individuals is affiliated by two constructs, which are
power and autonomy. It has been found that people try to create higher power in the society by
using higher quality brands and in this way, there is high demand for high-status products. On
the other hand, certain people who does not have the accurate sense of purchase outcome are
found to buy variety and unique products from same categories.
Recommendations for the organization
Amazon Australia has been chosen because it has wide variety of products including
several sub-categories from retail. It has more than 29 product and services that are offered in
Australia, which includes both local and international brands (Patchell, 2017). According to
Nguyen and Duncan (2017), even though unemployment rate in Australia has decreased from the
past decade however at present the rate has become stagnant to 5.6%. On the other hand, job
security, employee wage cutoff, change on trade policies are the reasons that make consumers
exposed to control-depriving situations. Therefore, it can be found that there is huge demand in
Australia for utilitarian products.

2IMPACT OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR ON BUSINESS DECISION
It is recommended that Amazon needs to include more number of products especially in
the retail category in order to compete against Woolworths and Wesfarmers. There should be
partnership with more number of retailers and manufacturers who sell products for daily usage.
Moreover, Amazon has the opportunity to introduce utilitarian products with higher price so that
power construct of individuals can be satisfied with high-status products. Moreover, Amazon can
introduce multiple brands in retail category with the purpose of addressing similar daily usage so
that autonomy construct can be addressed.

3IMPACT OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR ON BUSINESS DECISION
References
Chen, C. Y., Lee, L., & Yap, A. J. (2017). Control deprivation motivates acquisition of utilitarian
products. Journal of Consumer Research, 43(6), 1031-1047.
Nguyen, H. T., & Duncan, A. S. (2017). Exchange rate fluctuations and immigrants' labour
market outcomes: New evidence from Australian household panel data. Journal of
International Economics, 105, 174-186.
Patchell, J. (2017). Amazon: It's just business. Electrical Connection, (Spring 2017), 6.