How People Make Buying Decisions

Read this chapter, which discusses consumers' decision-making process and examines the situational, personal, psychological, and societal factors influencing their buying decisions.

Factors That Influence Consumers' Buying Behavior

Review Questions

  1. Explain what physical factors, social situations, time factors, and/or moods have affected your buying behavior for different products.
  2. Explain how someone's personality differs from his or her self-concept. How does the person's ideal self-concept come into play in a consumer behavior context?
  3. Describe how buying patterns and purchase decisions may vary by age, gender, and stage of life.
  4. Why are companies interested in consumers' cognitive ages and lifestyle factors?
  5. How does the process of perception work and how can companies use it to their advantage in their marketing?
  6. How do Maslow's hierarchy of needs and learning affect how companies market to consumers?
  7. Why do people's cultures and subcultures affect what they buy?
  8. How do subcultures differ from cultures? Can you belong to more than one culture or subculture?
  9. How are companies trying to reach opinion leaders?