Consumer Decision Making Process: A Case Study on Vacuum Cleaner

This report examines the consumer decision-making process using the purchase of a vacuum cleaner as a case study. It begins by identifying the initial need to purchase a new vacuum cleaner due to damage to the previous one. The report then delves into the information search phase, highlighting the use of search engines and online retail sites to gather information on different brands, prices, features, and customer reviews. The analysis includes an examination of the evoked, inept, inert, and avoided sets of brands considered during the purchase. The report also discusses available purchase methods, including retail stores and online platforms. Finally, it considers potential post-purchase behavior, anticipating a positive outcome due to the thorough research conducted prior to the purchase. References to academic sources support each step of the process. The chosen brand, Panasonic, was ordered online to take advantage of a discount offer.

Running head: CONSUMER DECISON MAKING PROCESS
CONSUMER DECISION MAKING PROCESS
Product selected: Vacuum cleaner
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

CONSUMER DECISON MAKING PROCESS 1
Analysis chart:
In order to analyse the decision making process of a consumer at the time of purchasing a
product, vacuum cleaner has been selected as the product. Below is a chart, depicting each step
of consumer decision making process.
Need to
purchase
the product
According to Wang et al. (2016), the first step of purchasing a product is the
necessity to buy the product. As the previous vacuum cleaner got damaged and
became irreparable, there arose the need to purchase a new one.
Internal
and
external
informatio
n search
When one get is decided that the particular product needs to be purchased, the
very next step is to search for proper information about the product (Armstrong et
al. 2015).
The search engine, Google made searching easier. I searched different brands of
vacuum cleaners and how one is different from the other in terms of its price,
design, weight, manufacturing warranty and not to forget the review of the product
as well. Apart from Google, I also searched the product in different online sites
and got the product descriptions with customer review.
Sets of
alternatives
Evoked set: Branded products are market with warranty and can be trusted easily
(Gunawan 2015). The different brands that popped up during product search were
Dyson, Electrolux, Hoover, Volta, Wertheim and many others.
Inept: There are obviously certain lesser known companies or brands but their
name evolved during product search. These are, Miele, Shark, Vax and others
Inert: The brands that the buyers are aware of but not interest while purchasing.
These brands were Brady Industries, Dustbane Products Ltd, Numatic
International and others.
Avoided Set: The brands that are completely avoided as they are not at all popular
among the consumers and so that cannot be trusted at all (Wang and Yu 2017).
These brands were Zelmer, Vorwerk etc.
At the time of making purchase, it was decided that the product needs to be of
good quality because these are durable appliances and are not purchased often. So,
by checking a huge lot of alternatives, Panasonic brand was chosen and it was
ordered online to avail the 10% off offer.
Available
purchase
methods
As stated by Solomon (2014), purchasing and selling products have become easier
with the increasing number of online retail sites.
Since, it was determined that a new product will be purchased and not a second
hand, the available purchase methods are to either purchase from retail stores or
electronic appliances outlets; or by ordering it online from any online site.
Potential
post-
purchase
behaviour
The post purchase behaviour can be either positive or negative depending on the
advantages gained from the particular product (Solomon et al. 2013).
Since, the product will be purchased by thorough investigation, it is expected that
the chosen product will be a good one and thus, post purchase behaviour would be

CONSUMER DECISON MAKING PROCESS 2
positive towards the company and the product.
References:
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson
Gunawan, S., 2015. The Impact of Motivation, Perception and Attitude toward Consumer
Purchasing Decision: A Study Case of Surabaya and Jakarta Society on Carl’s Junior. iBuss
Management, 3(2).
Solomon, M.R., 2014. Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Solomon, M.R., Russell-Bennett, R. and Previte, J., 2013. Consumer behaviour: Buying, having,
being. Pearson Australia.
Wang, M., Lu, Q. and Ye, Q., 2016, June. The Impact of Differenttypes of Online Reviews on
Consumer Purchasing Decision-an Empirical Investigation with Online Marketplace Data.
In PACIS (p. 300).
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.