A brief outline of the process a consumer goes through when making a purchase.

1. Consumer Decision Process
By: Alina Latimer

2. Consumer Decision Process Steps
1) Need Recognition
2) Search for Information
3) Evaluation ofAlternatives
4) Purchase and Consumption
5) Postpurchase

3. Need Recognition
When consumer recognize that they have an
unsatisfied need AND they would like to go
from their current state of need to a different,
desired state.
Want is when a good or service is not needed
but is desired.
The two kinds of needs are:
1) Functional Needs which pertain to the
performance of a product or service
2) Psychological Needs which pertain to the
personal gratification associated with a
product or service

4. Search for Information
After recognizing a need, the search for
information is finding the various options
available to satisfy that need
The two types of information searches are:
1) Internal search such as memory, prior
knowledge, and past experiences
2) External search which includes any
information outside of personal knowledge
such as asking friends or looking on the
internet

5. Search for
Information
Factors
Affecting the
Search
Perceived Benefit versus Perceived Cost
Is it worth the time and effort to search for information about a
product or service?
Locus of Control
Do you believe you have control over your life (Internal) or do
you believe that fate controls your life (External)?
Actual or Perceived Risk
Performance Risk – Perceived danger inherent in a poorly
performing product or service
Financial Risk – Monetary outlay which includes initial purchase
as well as all the costs of using
Social Risk – Worrying what others might think of your purchase
Physiological or Safety Risk – Fear of actual harm should the
purchase not perform properly
Psychological Risk – Conveying the right image of your purchase
to your peers

6. Evaluation of Alternatives
Once a need is recognized and the options
explored, a consumer must sift through the
choices available.
This step often occurs at the same time as the
Search for Information.
The three influences of evaluation are:
1) Attribute Sets
2) Consumer Decision Rules
3) Choice Architecture

7. Evaluation of
Alternatives
Attribute Sets
Universal Sets – All possible choices for a product
category
Retrieval Sets – Brands or stores that can be readily
brought forth from memory
Evoked Sets – Alternative brands or stores the
consumer would consider when making a purchase
decision
EvaluativeCriteria – Salient, or important, attributes
about a particular product
Determinant Attributes – Features that are important to
the buyer and on which competing brands or stores are
perceived to differ

8. Evaluation of
Alternatives
Consumer
Decision Rules
Compensatory –When evaluating alternatives, trading
off one characteristic for another, such that good
characteristics compensate for bad ones
Noncompensatory – Choosing a product or service
based on one characteristic or one subset of
characteristics regardless of the values of the other
attributes
The set of criteria that consumers use consciously or
subconsciously to quickly and efficiently select from several
alternatives

9. Evaluation of
Alternatives
Choice
Architecture
Impulse Products – Products that are purchased
without planning
Nudge – Altering behavior in a predictable way, without
forbidding other options or significantly changing any
economic incentives
Default – Imposing a choice on a person who fails to
make a decision or does not actively opt for a different
alternative

10. Purchase and Consumption
After Evaluating the Alternatives, consumers
are ready to buy
Consumers don’t always purchase where they
had originally decided so retailers often use
the conversion rate
Conversion rate is how well retailers have
converted purchase intentions into purchases

11. Postpurchase Outcomes
Customer Satisfaction – How satisfied is the consumer with the product or
service?
Postpurchase Cognitive Dissonance – An internal conflict that arises from an
inconsistency between two beliefs or between beliefs and behaviors (Buyers
Remorse)
Customer Loyalty – Buying from the same company again
Undesired Consumer Behavior – Negative word of mouth either via Social Media
or in person

12. Bibliography
Grewal, Dhruv, and Michael Levy. “Consumer Behavior.” Marketing, Eighth ed., McGraw-Hill
Education, Dubuque, 2022, pp. 187–202.