Page 127 - DMGT554_RETAIL_BUYING

Retail Buying

Notes Self Assessment

State whether the following statements are true or false:
4. Buying is the cognitive process of selecting a course of action from among multiple
alternatives.

5. There are five stages which a consumer often goes through when he/she around their
purchase.
6. Decision making is the decision making processes undertaken by consumers in regard to
a potential market transaction before, during, and after the purchase of a product or
service.



Caselet Decision of the Consumer

Background
A consumer products company wanted to understand the practices, needs and wants around
one of our basic human needs—drinking water. Their objective was to determine the
market need and positioning for a modified home refrigerator with a unique method of
built-in water filtration. Key questions: Who are the key targets for this product? What
are the factors that drive refrigerator buying and how are these factors prioritized? Could
high quality water filtration be a leverage point for a refrigerator buying?

Process: Ethnography (in-home and in-store), supplemented by interviews in-facility.
Phase One: Ethnography
 In-home: Observed usage and storage of drinking water (bottled, filtered) in the
home
 In-store: Conducted interviews with refrigerator buying in retail outlets to
understand their decision making process and hierarchy of criteria when making
this large, important household buying.
Phase Two: Buying decision Fieldwork

 Explored reactions to client’s prototype product to understand how well it answered
unmet needs
 Used validation scenarios to confirm decision criteria

 Test impact of various messaging options
Outcome:
 Rich insights into consumer’s behaviours and attitudes
 Clear direction on which leverage points to address, both when purchasing a large
item like a refrigerator, and a small item like bottled water or a filtration system.
 Detailed messaging recommendations for the brand
Source: http://sundialresearch.com/sun_case_studies/purchase-decision-case-study

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