The Consumer Purchase Decision Process

Paper Summary:

This paper relates the author's own personal experience in using the consumer purchase decision process to select a product. Each stage of the purchase decision process is discussed and related to the buying experience that is the central theme of the paper. The product that is discussed is diatomaceous earth.

The Consumer Purchase Decision Process in Action
Problem Recognition
Information Search
Alternative Evaluation
Purchase Decision
Post-purchase Behavior

From the Paper:

"This stage helps the consumer to clarify what options are open to him or her. This stage may involve to methods of searching, known as internal or external. Internal searching means the customer scans their own memory to recall previous experiences with brands or products. For frequent purchases, like the carton of milk mentioned earlier, internal searching is usually more than adequate for the consumer's needs. However, when past experience is insufficient and/or the risk of making a wrong purchasing decision is high, the consumer can resort to external searching, or finding more information from outside sources. There are three primary sources of external information. The first is personal sources, such as family or friends. Second are public sources, including various product rating organizations (Consumer Reports is an example). The last is marketing-dominated sources, such as advertising, company web sites and salespeople."

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