People shop for many reasons, but the core of each shopping trip is to satisfy a need. Things like food, clothing, cleaning supplies or even books are all products used to satisfy a need. Of course these same products are bought to satisfy wants, but everything for sell is only for sell because someone discovered a need for it.
What product do we buy to satisfy our need is the question? Price plays a big factor in this decision as do, quantity, tastes, value, ethnicity, geographic location, religion, job status, size, gender, marital status, whether you rent or own, whether you use public transportation or drive, but what are the deciding factors of your choice?
Ten years ago before all of the new technological advancements it was not very easy to get a lot of information about products. The way companies advertised their brands was the biggest influence on what we knew about the products and word of mouth. If Kraft macaroni and cheese was on the television all the time and the people looked happy eating it, then it must be good, especially if we see it on billboards, buses, in windows and trains too, then it had to have been good. The above mentioned avenues were the routes producers took to get into our homes, essentially this made our purchases easier, but now all of this is different. Thanks to the world wide web with the plethora of information we can get as much information as we want about a product, so how do we choose? Here is a link to an article that talks about consumer shopping habits dealing with mobile devices http://bewelldogood.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/report-importance-of-mobile-in-consumer-shopping-intentions/ .
Let’s make this a discussion between the two of us and anyone else who wants to join in. What are the decision makers that help you choose a product?
Quality and price