This is my power point presentation on consumer behavior and how it affects purchasing decisions.

1. Consumer behavior
By Lindsey Best

2. UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
To understand consumer
behavior, we must ask
why people buy goods and
services.
Generally, people buy one
product or service over
another because they
perceive it to be a better
value for them

3. CONSUMER DECISION PROCESS
There are 5 steps that a consumer goes through before, during, and after making a
purchase.
Need
Recognitio
n
Informatio
n search
Alternativ
e
Evaluatio
n
Purchase
and
consumptio
n
Post-
purchas
e

4. NEED RECOGNITION
➤ This begins when a consumer
recognizes they have an unsatisfied
need.
➤ Needs can be classified as;
-Functional, psychological, or both
➤ Functional needs pertain to the
performance of a product/service
➤ Psychological needs pertain to personal
gratification the consumer associates
with the product/service.

5. SEARCH FOR INFORMATION
➤ This step involves a search for
information regarding various options
that exist to satisfy a specific need
➤ Two types of searches;
-Internal and External
➤ Internal search is when a buyer can
recall through his or her own memory
about a product/service gathered
through past experiences.
➤ External search is when a buyer seeks
information outside of his or her own
knowledge. This can be by talking to
friends and family or looking online.

6. FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER’S
SEARCH PROCESSESThere are many factors that affect
consumers’ search processes;
-Perceived benefits vs. perceived cost
-The Locus of Control (internal/external)
-Actual or perceived risk.
➤ Perceived benefits vs. cost is the time
and effort it takes to search for
information about a product.
➤ The locus of control has two parts
-Internal is the belief that people have
control over their actions.
-External is the belief that fate
determines the outcome.
➤ Actual or perceived risk is the risk
involved when making a purchasing
decision. There are five types.
The five types of risk include;
-Performance, financial, social,
physiological and psychological.

7. ALTERNATIVE EVALUATION
This occurs while the consumer is engaged in the search for information. There are a few contributing
Attribute Sets that help the consumer make purchasing decisions;
-Universal sets, Retrieval sets and Evoked sets.
➤ Universal sets include all the possible choices for a product.
➤ Retrieval sets are the brands or stores that the consumer can easily recall from memory.
➤ Evoked sets are the brands or stores a consumer would consider when making a purchase.

8. PURCHASE AND CONSUMPTION
After weighing out all the
options, at this point the
consumer is ready to make a
decision on what to purchase.
This can be done in stores and
online.

9. POST-PURCHASE
This is the final step in the purchasing process.
There are three possible post purchase
outcomes;
-Customer satisfaction, post-purchase
cognitive dissonance, and customer loyalty(or
disloyalty)
➤ Customer Satisfaction occurs when the
consumer is pleased with his or her
purchase
➤ Post-purchase cognitive dissonance is an
internal conflict that arises when a consumer
questions how appropriate the purchase was
after the decision was made. This is likely to
happen when buying something expensive
or when there is a high level of risk involved.
➤ Customer loyalty is what marketers attempt
to solidify with their target market. They
want consumers to be happy with their
purchases so they will continue to come
back and buy more.

10. While there are many ways a consumer is influenced to make a purchasing decision,
such as needs, attitudes, and motives there are also environmental attributes that play
a role as well. Things such as lifestyle, society, friends, family, media and situational
factors. Whatever the case may be, it is important to understand how people prioritize
their wants/needs and how their behaviors affect this process.