• Unit 5: The Purchasing Process

    Consumers must select an outlet and a product when making a purchase. The manufacturer and the retailer must be aware of the decision sequence consumers use in choosing an outlet, as it will have a major impact on their marketing strategy. Consumers sometimes experience doubts or stress about the wisdom of a purchase. This phenomenon is known as post-purchase dissonance or, put more simply, regret. Whether or not a consumer experiences dissonance, most purchases are followed by product use, either by the purchaser or by some other member of the purchasing unit.

    Monitoring product usage, often through questionnaires, is important to marketers because it can indicate new uses for existing products, needed product modifications, appropriate advertising themes, or opportunities for new products.

    This unit covers the consumer's individual decision-making process and how that affects their post-purchase satisfaction.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 6 hours.

    • Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

      • identify how a decision is actually composed of a series of stages that results in the selection of one product over competing options;
      • explain how our access to online sources is changing the way we decide what to buy;
      • evaluate how consumers rely upon different decision rules when evaluating competing options; and
      • explain why marketers need to be concerned about a consumer's evaluations of a product after he buys it as well as before.

    • 5.1: Decision-Making Process

      Consumer decision-making is a central part of consumer behavior, even though the way consumers evaluate and choose products varies widely based on the degree of novelty or risk in the decision. Regardless of the decision, the process is essentially the same.

      • Consumer Decision-Making Process Page

        All consumer purchases follow a decision-making process, whether consciously for more complex purchases or subconsciously for relatively simple purchases. Read this chapter to compare the differences between the different steps in the consumer decision-making process. Once the process is started, the buyer can withdraw or stop at any stage and not make the actual purchase. The depth the consumer engages in each stage depends on the purchase's complexity and whether it's a new or repeat purchase. As you learn about each step, think of a simple and complex purchase you recently made and how you followed the decision process. Take a look at the post-purchase step overview, which we will cover in more detail in subsequent units.

    • 5.2: Consumer Attitudes

      Attitudes are the ongoing, general evaluation of people, objects, advertisements, or issues. Once a marketer identifies a product's dominant function, they can emphasize these benefits in their communications and packaging. Attitudes have three parts: affective (feelings), behavioral (response tendencies), and cognitive (beliefs). This trio is often referred to as the ABC Model of attitudes.

      • Consumer Repurchase Behaviors of Smartphones Book

        Read this study, which analyzes consumer intent to repurchase a smartphone. The intention was derived as social influence, consumer satisfaction, emotional loyalty, and habit.

      • Determinants of Consumer Attitudes Book

        Marketers spend a lot of resources to get consumers to repurchase their products or services. These efforts start with the initial advertising and continue through to the post-purchase decision-making step. Read this study on the determinants of consumer attitudes on repurchase intentions in the direct-to-consumer fashion industry. For marketers to succeed, they must continue strengthening their value proposition.

    • Unit 5 Study Resources

      This review video is an excellent way to review what you've learned so far and is presented by one of the professors who created the course.

    • Unit 5 Assessment

      • Unit 5 Assessment Quiz
        Receive a grade

        Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.

        • This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
        • You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
        • You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.