What guides the average buyer when choosing a product? Consumer behavior, the factors on the basis of which they make their decision, have long been the focus of close attention of marketers, psychologists, economists, and just everyone involved in the field of human trafficking. So what does modern economic theory say about this?
Basic postulates
In order to understand what the behavior of the consumer in a market economy depends on and what is its mechanism, economists rely on a number of the following provisions:
- Rationality. The final choice of the buyer largely depends on his system of preferences. The same benefit for different people will have different values, which is determined by an individual assessment of the usefulness of a product. Each buyer is committed to a specific range of life benefits. An objective utility scale does not exist; consumer behavior depends on his subjective preferences. Moreover, each person knows what specific benefits he needs, he can compare their sets and choose what will be most preferable for him. This is rationality.
- Sovereignty. Any buyer makes a personal decision on the acquisition of goods, which in no way can have a significant impact on manufacturers. Nevertheless, thanks to the market mechanism, individual consumer choices are summarized, and this result affects the further development of the manufacturer’s business. If buyers preferred any good, then its manufacturer makes a profit, its business is booming. In other words, consumer sovereignty means his power over the market, the ability to determine what and how much will go to store shelves.
- Plurality. A variety of needs of a person and of the whole society leads to the fact that there is an abundance of all kinds of benefits on the market aimed at satisfying certain needs. Therefore, consumer behavior is influenced by the fact that there is always something to choose from, there are various options for how this can be done.
How is the purchase
The whole decision-making process regarding the purchase of a product or service is divided into five stages:
- the definition of human needs ;
- search and identification of all alternatives;
- assessment of each option;
- making a decision and making a purchase;
- post-purchase analysis.
Consumer behavior is a kind of reaction to the incentive actions of marketing incentives: the product, its price, distribution methods and ways of influencing customers. These factors, coming together with other irritants (cultural, economic, political, etc.) into the “black box” of the buyer's mind, cause a response (choice of goods, brand, time of purchase, etc.).
The influence of the last name on the ability to make purchases
Consumer behavior is a very complex process. Despite the fact that at the moment there are many models, schools and directions in the study of customer actions, the study sometimes brings interesting surprises. So, American scientists have found that people who have one of the last letters of the alphabet at the beginning of a surname decide to make a purchase faster than others. This is explained by the fact that from childhood they ended up at the end of lines and different lists, and therefore, in adulthood, they are afraid to miss out on good deals. And who knows what other secrets are hidden in our minds?