Analyzing Consumer Behavior: IPhone, University, Restaurant

This assignment delves into the realm of consumer behavior, analyzing three distinct purchase decisions made by the author: the purchase of an iPhone 8, the decision to apply to the University of Sydney, and the choice to dine at Vamos Cocina restaurant. The analysis explores the motivations, reasoning, and factors that influenced each decision, including brand loyalty, personal preferences, family influence, academic goals, dining experience, ambiance, and health considerations. The assignment also touches upon the consumer decision-making process, outlining stages such as need identification, information gathering, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, and post-purchase evaluation. Furthermore, it acknowledges the impact of external factors like reviews and personal factors such as economic condition, lifestyle, and personality on consumer choices. References to academic research further enrich the analysis, providing a comprehensive understanding of consumer behavior in various contexts.

Consumer Behaviour

Contents
Defining consumer behavior............................................................................................................1
Purchase decision 1: IPhone 8.........................................................................................................1
Purchase decision 2: The University of Sydney..............................................................................1
Purchase decision 3: Vamos Cocina................................................................................................1
Consumer behavior concepts...........................................................................................................2
References........................................................................................................................................2

Defining consumer behavior
Consumer behavior is the study of how individual customers select, buy, use and dispose ideas,
goods or services (Juster, 2015). Consumer behavior is an interesting study as it talks about
various things that take place in the mind of the consumer while making any purchase decision.
Purchase decision 1: IPhone 8
The recent purchase that I made was buying the IPhone 8. My reasoning behind the same was
rather simple and required little thought. I had been using the IPhone 6s over the last two years
and I am very happy with its performance. The phone has a 2GB RAM and a 64GB internal
storage. I mostly use my phone to remain in touch with my friends via social media and click
pictures. I am an active Instagram user and I keep my page up to date. This is why I needed a
phone with a very good camera. IPhone has a 7MP front camera and 12MP rear camera. Even
though, many other phone offer similar specifications but having used the IPhone, I am sure that
I am a lot of more comfortable using the IOS (Apple operating system) than an Android or a
Window’s phone.
Purchase decision 2: The University of Sydney
I want to build my career in the field of management and I have always been a sincere student. I
agree that getting into the University of Sydney is not a cake walk but I am willing to leave no
stone unturned. Many members of my family have gone to the same college and this makes me
more inclined to enroll myself there. There are various personal factors that play a vital role
throughout the consumer decision making process (Rani, 2014). The courses on management
offered by the University of Sydney are highly renowned across the globe. Therefore, enrolling
myself in the university would also assist me in getting a good job. The professors at the
university includes renowned names like Eddie Anderson, Donnel Briley and Ray Cooper. I am
convinced that learning from them would help me get a deeper insight on the subject as well as
provide me with a competitive edge in the world.

Purchase decision 3: Vamos Cocina
Vamos Cocina is a fine dining restaurant at Little Bourke Street in Melbourne. I have always
been fond of the place owing to the excellence of the previous experiences. The reason why I
always visit the place is because I am very fond of outdoor seating while enjoying my meal. I
feel the good music of the place and the outdoor ambience adds positively to the entire dining
experience. Moreover, word of mouth also plays a crucial role in selecting the restaurant
(Jalilvand, Salimipour, Elyasi & Mohammadi, 2017). I and my friends are health conscious and
it is difficult to find good places that offer gluten free food. Vamos Cocina is one of them. The
restaurant offers a wide variety of cuisines and even a large group of people can be satisfied with
the offerings.
Consumer behavior concepts
The decision making process of a consumer goes through a variety of stages as below (Oliver,
2014):
1. Need identification
2. Information gathering
3. Evaluation of alternatives
4. Purchase
5. Post purchase evaluation
This holds true for me especially while finalizing the restaurant. People also try to read reviews
on websites and then decide where to go (Cheng & Ho, 2015). There are various personal factors
also that always affect my decision making. This includes my economic condition, my lifestyle
and my personality.

References
Cheng, Y.H. and Ho, H.Y., 2015. Social influence's impact on reader perceptions of online
reviews. Journal of Business Research, 68(4), pp.883-887.
Jalilvand, M. R., Salimipour, S., Elyasi, M., & Mohammadi, M. (2017). Factors influencing
word of mouth behaviour in the restaurant industry. Marketing Intelligence &
Planning, 35(1), 81-110.
Juster, F. T. (2015). Anticipations and purchases: An analysis of consumer behavior. Princeton
University Press.
Oliver, R. L. (2014). Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. Routledge.
Rani, P. (2014). Factors influencing consumer behaviour. International journal of current
research and academic review, 2(9), 52-61.