SMM542 Marketing Fundamentals Week 2 Lecture Notes
The Buying Process
Sequential Choice in Group Settings
o The social context affects choices of group members, as well as the
satisfaction with the outcome of their choices.
Main Information sources
o Prior experiences
o Other consumers
o Marketers
o Third parties
Four types of purchase decisions
o Extensive Decisions – Comprehensive problem-solving processes,
conscious information processing
Often purchases associated with high prices/ high risk.
Out of all our purchases very few fall into this category.
o Limited Decisions – Experience with product group available, decision
criteria already developed, limited information search.
o Habitualised Decisions – Frequently repeated purchases, little
information search and processing.
Often for daily goods/products with little perceived difference
within category.
Consumers seek to reduce cognitive effort and repeat
satisfactory experience by rebuying the same product/brand.
o Impulse Decisions – Unplanned and fast, no mental control and strong
stimulus situation.
The individual parameters for the buying process can be very different.
Individual Influencing Factors
o Involvement
One of the core construct in consumer behaviour.
Consumer take their products very seriously, in terms of
comparison of brands.
Related to effort and information search when purchasing.
The level of personal importance and/or interest evoked by a
stimulus within a specific situation.
Continuum – A function of an object, person and a situation.
High involvement purchases have a great importance for a
consumer in a respective decision.
Often particular effort and active information search when
buying products.
Low involvement purchases are relatively little importance for
the consumer.
Little effort and information search when buying such
products.
The Buying Process
Sequential Choice in Group Settings
o The social context affects choices of group members, as well as the
satisfaction with the outcome of their choices.
Main Information sources
o Prior experiences
o Other consumers
o Marketers
o Third parties
Four types of purchase decisions
o Extensive Decisions – Comprehensive problem-solving processes,
conscious information processing
Often purchases associated with high prices/ high risk.
Out of all our purchases very few fall into this category.
o Limited Decisions – Experience with product group available, decision
criteria already developed, limited information search.
o Habitualised Decisions – Frequently repeated purchases, little
information search and processing.
Often for daily goods/products with little perceived difference
within category.
Consumers seek to reduce cognitive effort and repeat
satisfactory experience by rebuying the same product/brand.
o Impulse Decisions – Unplanned and fast, no mental control and strong
stimulus situation.
The individual parameters for the buying process can be very different.
Individual Influencing Factors
o Involvement
One of the core construct in consumer behaviour.
Consumer take their products very seriously, in terms of
comparison of brands.
Related to effort and information search when purchasing.
The level of personal importance and/or interest evoked by a
stimulus within a specific situation.
Continuum – A function of an object, person and a situation.
High involvement purchases have a great importance for a
consumer in a respective decision.
Often particular effort and active information search when
buying products.
Low involvement purchases are relatively little importance for
the consumer.
Little effort and information search when buying such
products.
