Module 2
Customer Buying Behavior
A. The Buying Process
Consumers spend $700 billion on e-commerce annually—accounting for almost
15 percent of all retail sales.1 These rising values, especially during and in the period
following the COVID-19 lockdown, signal the ways in which consumers have grown
comfortable with shopping in new ways. The shifts are evident in a range of product
markets, including grocery, apparel, entertainment, and electronics.
Apparel and electronics retailers traditionally enjoyed the greatest e-commerce
adoption among consumers, whereas grocery delivery lagged far behind, with an
adoption rate of only 3 percent of consumers in 2019. But for consumers under stay-at-
home orders, where their consumption behaviors were drastically constrained, grocery
became an increasingly important online sector. In early 2020, grocery delivery
experienced the highest growth rate of any ecommerce activity; Instacart’s platform grew
by more than 400 percent, for example.
In the meantime, with consumers spending more on groceries to eat at home,
restaurant delivery services have experienced slowed growth. DoorDash sought to
address the shift by highlighting its capacity to deliver popular items from chain
restaurant menus to consumers living outside large cities. Grubhub, whose business
model instead promised provisions from independent restaurants in big cities, has
struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as densely populated areas
continued to confront high infection rates.
But playing video games does not require a business suit, leading to two
contrasting trends in the fashion industry. First, sellers of professional attire are suffering
through dramatic losses. Rent the Runway reported a 50 percent decrease in sales, for
example. Second, casual and athletic clothing retailers such as Lululemon instead have
enjoyed notable growth.5 Even if some of this spending shifts back to a mix between e-
commerce and physical stores as consumers become more willing to enter retail stores,
some of the alterations in their behavior are likely to stick. For example, it appears likely
that more workers will engage in remote work, even if the threat of COVID-19
diminishes, so retailers that sell dressy and professional clothing are unlikely to reattain
their pre–COVID-19 status. Instead, stores that stock athleisure and casual, comfortable
clothing may be likely to take a new lead in the clothing industry, keeping at-home
gamers, chefs, and grocery shoppers comfortable and well equipped for their new
lifestyles.
The following scenario illustrates the steps consumers go through when
purchasing merchandise. Salina Wang, a student at Carnegie Mellon University, is
beginning to interview for jobs. Salina planned to wear the blue suit she picked out for
her college admissions interview several years ago. But looking at her suit, she realizes
that it is not very stylish and that the jacket is beginning to show signs of wear. Wanting
to make a good first impression during her interviews, she decides to buy a new suit.
Salina surfs the Internet for tips on dressing for interviews, watches YouTube
videos to make sure she knows which are in fashion, reads through a few fashion blogs
such as Who What Wear, and checks what her friends like on Instagram, as well as what
they have pinned on Pinterest. She goes to retailers’ websites to examine and compare all
their suits. She then decides to go to a store so that she can try on a suit and have it
altered if necessary. She likes to shop at Everlane and The Gap, but neither sells business
suits. Before going to the Ross Park Mall in Pittsburgh, she posts an Instagram story
announcing her intentions to go to the mall and inviting friends to join her. Her pal
Lauren responds to the Instagram story, and they decide to meet at the mall entrance;
another friend, Hannah, also responds, but she has a cold and does not want to take the
risk of infecting others by going to a crowded mall.
Salina and Lauren first go to Nordstrom and are approached by a salesperson in
the women’s work clothing section. After asking Salina what type of suit she wants and
her size, the salesperson shows her three suits. Salina talks with Lauren about the suits,
and as they are undecided, they want to get Hannah’s opinion. Thus, Salina initiates a
FaceTime video call with Hannah where she states that she likes all three.
Salina decides to try them on, but when she comes out of the dressing room, she is
unsure which suit to select. After sending Hannah some photos on her smartphone,
Salina, Lauren, and the salesperson all agree that the second suit is the most attractive and
appropriate for interviewing. Salina is happy with the color, fit, fabric, and length of the
suit, but she is concerned that it will require dry cleaning. It also costs more than she had
planned to spend. Salina decides to buy the suit after another consumer in the store,
seeing her wearing the suit, tells her she looks very professional. As Lauren and Salina
are walking toward the door, they pass the shoe department. Lauren offers a
recommendation: “You need to buy shoes to go with that new suit.” Salina finds a pair of
Sam Edelman pumps that are perfect. She tries on a few pairs to get the right size. Then
Lauren tells her that she thinks the shoes are overpriced. Salina scans the UPC code for
the shoes using her mobile phone’s QR Reader app and finds that Zappos is selling the
shoes for $20 less and with no sales tax. So, using her phone, she orders the shoes from
Zappos for delivery to her apartment the next day.
Consider Salina’s shopping experience as we describe the consumer buying
process. The buying process—the steps consumers go through when buying a product or
service— begins when consumers recognize an unsatisfied need. Then they seek
information about how to satisfy the need—what retailers, channels, and products or
services might do so. Consumers then evaluate the alternatives and choose a store, mobile
app, or Internet site to visit. Their encounter with a retailer provides more information
and may alert them to additional needs. After evaluating the retailer’s offering,
consumers may make a purchase or go to another retailer to collect more information.
Eventually, consumers purchase a product, use the product, and then decide whether the
retailer, channel, and product satisfy their needs during the postpurchase evaluation stage
of the consumer buying process.
The buying process is triggered when consumers recognize they have an
unsatisfied need. An unsatisfied need arises when consumers’ desired level of satisfaction
differs from their present level of satisfaction. For example, Salina recognized that she
had a need when she was faced with the prospect of interviewing for jobs in her blue suit.
She needed a suit that would make a good impression and realized her worn, outdated
blue suit would not satisfy this need. Need recognition can be as straightforward as
realizing your hair has gotten too long and shaggy, feeling the desire for an uplifting
experience after a final exam, receiving a message about something a friend bought, or
getting a notice of a shipment from the subscription service you signed up for.
The needs that motivate consumers to make purchases can be classified as
utilitarian or hedonic. When consumers go shopping to accomplish a specific task, or for
some functional purpose, such as Salina buying a suit for job interviews, they are seeking
to satisfy utilitarian needs. When consumers go shopping for pleasure, they are seeking to
satisfy their hedonic needs—their needs for entertaining, emotional, and recreational
experiences. Thus, from the consumer’s perspective, utilitarian needs are associated with
functionality, whereas hedonic needs are associated with pleasure.8 Successful retailers
attempt to satisfy both the utilitarian and the hedonic needs of their consumers.
Consumers motivated by utilitarian needs typically shop in a more deliberate and
efficient manner. Thus, retailers need to provide adequate information and an effortless
shopping experience for utilitarian shoppers. But shoppers with hedonic needs desire
excitement, stimulation, status and power, recreation, and adventure.
Retailers and mall managers use background music, visual displays, scents, and
demonstrations in stores and malls to create a carnival-like, stimulating experience for
their consumers. (See Chapter 17.) Such environments encourage consumers to take a
break from their everyday lives and visit stores. Retailers also attempt to stimulate
consumers with exciting graphics and photography in their catalogs and on their
websites. Some consumers choose retailers and service providers based on the attention
and respect they receive. For example, Canyon Ranch offers upscale health resorts in
Tucson, Arizona, Woodside, California, and Lenox, Massachusetts, as well as a spa club
in Las Vegas, Nevada. All Canyon Ranch resorts and spas make the consumer’s
experience the center of attention, offering spa services, medical and nutritional
consultations, workshops, spiritual pursuits, and healthy gourmet cuisine.
. Often, consumers go shopping because they enjoy finding bargains, looking for
sales, discounts, or low prices. They treat shopping as a game to be “won.” Off-price
retailers like Marshalls and Trader Joe’s, warehouse clubs like Costco, and fast-fashion
specialty retailers like Zara cater to this need by constantly changing their assortment so
that consumers never know what kind of treasure they will find.
Most consumers have multiple needs. Moreover, these needs often conflict. For
example, Salina Wang would like to wear a DKNY suit, which, being fashionable, would
enhance her image and earn her the admiration of her college friends. But satisfying these
hedonic needs might conflict with her utilitarian needs—the need to stay within her
budget and the need to get a job. Employers might feel that she’s not responsible if she
wears a suit that is too expensive for an interview for an entry-level position. Later in this
chapter, we discuss a model of how consumers make trade-offs between conflicting
needs. The needs and decision-making processes may differ depending on the specific
situation. For example, a skier may purchase expensive Spyder goggles but wear an
inexpensive snowsuit from Target. A grocery shopper might buy an inexpensive store
brand of paper towels and a premium national brand of orange juice.
Consumers must first recognize unsatisfied needs before they are motivated to
visit a store or go online to buy merchandise. Sometimes these needs are stimulated by an
event in a person’s life, like Salina’s impending interviews. Other times, however,
retailers use a variety of approaches to stimulate unmet needs. Advertising, social media,
e-mails, direct mail, publicity, and special events communicate the availability of new
merchandise or special prices. In monthly social media campaigns, Book of the Month
generates leads and retains existing subscribers by guiding them toward a specific book,
based on their interests. Within a store, visual merchandising and salespeople can
stimulate need recognition; for example, the display of shoes stimulated Lauren to
highlight Salina’s need for shoes to complement her new suit.
Once consumers identify a need, they typically seek information about retailers,
channels, or products to help them satisfy that need. Salina’s search started on the
Internet and then narrowed to the three suits shown to her by the salesperson at
Nordstrom and the opinions of her friends. In other situations, Salina might have
collected a lot more information by visiting several retailers and/or spending more time
on the Internet getting information from fashion blogs like College Fashion and Her
Campus. 10 The extent of the information search depends on several factors, such as its
costs, the perceived level of control, and the amount of risk associated with the purchase.
In turn, retailers can engage in several tactics to encourage consumers to limit their
search mainly to their offerings.
Consumers have two main sources of information that influence search: internal
and external. Internal sources involve information in a consumer’s memory, such as
names, images, and past experiences with different stores. The major source of internal
information is the consumer’s past shopping experience. Even if they remember only a
small fraction of the information to which they are exposed, consumers have an extensive
internal information bank to draw on when deciding where to shop and what to buy.
External sources consist of information provided by a host of sources. Consumers search
for products and information using search engines such as Google, visit the websites
maintained by manufacturers and retailers, acquire information from traditional media
(e.g., advertising), read blogs, watch product demonstrations on YouTube, and ask
friends, in person and through social media.
In general, the amount of information search undertaken depends on the value
consumers believe they can gain from searching versus the cost of searching.11 The
value of the search stems from the degree to which the additional information improves
the consumer’s purchase decision. Will the search help the consumer find a lower-priced
product like when Salina looked up the shoes she liked at Nordstrom and found them for
$20 less elsewhere or help find a product that will give superior performance?
Considering these possible trade-offs in product price or efficacy, the cost of a
consumer’s information search thus includes his or her time, money, and effort. For
example, traveling from store to store can cost money for gas and parking, or the time
spent traveling between stores is time that could have been spent on something else the
consumer wanted to do. Therefore, while money is a cost, typically the major cost
incurred by consumers when it comes to expanding their search is their time.
As we previously noted, shoppers might seek primarily hedonic benefits, in which
case they typically spend more time collecting information and shopping because they
enjoy the process. Consumers just trying to complete their shopping task probably tend to
search less. In addition, a consumer’s locus of control is pertinent. It refers to their sense
of who is in charge of the purchase and its outcomes. If consumers have an internal locus
of control, they believe their own actions produce their outcomes, so they tend to engage
in more search. If consumers have an external locus of control, they believe that fate or
other external factors control all outcomes, so it doesn’t really matter how much
information they gather. A consumer who searches multiple retailers to find the precise
lipstick shade and texture she knows looks best on her likely has an internal locus of
control; those who sign up for regular deliveries of surprise sample boxes from Birchbox
might believe that cosmetic experts are better able to make them look good, reflecting
their external locus of control.
When retail competition is greater, and there are more alternatives to consider,
consumers need to conduct more extensive information searches. Furthermore,
consumers consider whether it is worth their time and effort to keep searching for
information, or if they can just go ahead and buy a particular product or service. If they
are under great time pressures to make the purchase,13 the costs are higher, so they
search less. But families likely spend a lot of time researching the housing market before
they make a purchase, because homes are very expensive, and the purchase has
significant safety and enjoyment implications. They spend much less time researching
which inexpensive dollhouse to buy for the youngest member of the family in time for
her birthday.
Whereas consumers’ objectives largely determine the extent of their search, the
retailer also can seek its objectives in the information search stage by limiting consumers’
search to its own offerings. A key measure of a retailer’s performance on this objective is
the conversion rate, or the percentage of consumers who enter a store or access a website
and then buy a product from that same store or website.
Each element of the retail mix can be used to increase a retailer’s conversion rate.
In addition to the tactics we outlined in Retailing View 5.1, category specialists such as
Best Buy provide a very deep assortment of merchandise, everything a consumer might
want to consider, so that the consumer can collect all the information and make the
necessary comparisons between products in their stores or on their websites. At Sephora,
the fluid layout features products organized by brands and encourages consumers to try
products from different lines, which reduces their information search in other stores by
giving consumers a sense of the vast options available.
In terms of the pricing element of the retail mix, with its everyday low pricing
(EDLP) strategy, Walmart stresses the continuity of its retail prices at a level somewhere
between the regular nonsale price and the deep-discount sale price of its competitors.
This strategy reduces information search, because it helps assure consumers that they
won’t find a lower price for these products at a different store the next time they go
shopping. In addition, many stores offer money-back guarantees if a competitor offers the
same merchandise at a lower price. These pricing policies tend to limit the consumer’s
information search to the retailer’s offering.
Finally, we note how technology has dramatically reduced the cost of information
search. Vast information about merchandise sold across the world is just a smartphone
search away. In addition to placing their own information on their websites and apps,
retailers encourage consumers to post information such as product reviews, ratings,
photos, and videos. Consumer reviews thus are emerging as a prime information source
for shoppers as they collect information during the buying process.16 Google also
indirectly facilitates consumer search by providing retailers with information about how
shoppers search through its site. It even claims it can predict fashion trends better than
most retailers, and it’s willing to publish that information and assist retailers with trend
forecasting.
An existing model provides a useful way to summarize how consumers use the
information they have collected to evaluate and select retailers, channels, and products.
We discuss this model in detail because it offers a framework for developing a retailing
strategy.21 Specifically, the multiattribute attitude model is based on the notion that
consumers see a retailer, a product, or a channel as a collection of attributes or
characteristics. The model is designed to predict a consumer’s evaluation of a product,
retailer, or channel on the basis of (1) its performance on relevant attributes and (2) the
importance of those attributes to the consumer.
The young woman in this example forms an overall evaluation of each alternative
on the basis of the importance she places on each benefit the retailers provide. The
importance she places on a benefit can also be represented using a 10-point rating scale,
with 10 indicating the benefit is very important to her and 1 indicating it is very
unimportant. Using this rating scale, the importance of the retailers’ benefits for the
young woman and for a parent with four children is shown in Exhibit 5–3, along with the
performance beliefs previously discussed. Notice that the single woman values
convenience and the availability of product information much more than economy and
assortment. But to the parent, economy is very important and assortment is moderately
important, whereas convenience and product information are not very important. The
importance of a retailer’s benefits differs for each consumer and also may differ for each
shopping trip. For example, the parent with four children may stress economy for major
shopping trips but place more importance on convenience for a fill-in trip.
Research has shown that a consumer’s overall evaluation of an alternative (in this
situation, three retailers) is related to the sum of the performance beliefs multiplied by the
importance weights. When consumers are determining which retailer to select, they do
not actually go through the process of listing store characteristics, evaluating retailers’
performances on these characteristics, determining each characteristic’s importance,
calculating each store’s overall score, and then patronizing the retailer with the highest
score. The multiattribute attitude model does not reflect a consumers’ explicit and actual
decision process, but it does predict their evaluation of alternatives and their choice based
on those evaluations. In addition, the model provides useful information for designing a
retail offering. For example, if the supermarket could increase its performance rating on
assortment from 7 to 10 (perhaps by adding a bakery and a wide selection of prepared
meals), consumers like the parent might shop at the supermarket more often than at the
supercenter.
Retailers need to be included in the consumers’ consideration set, or the set of
alternatives the consumers evaluate when making a choice of a retailer to patronize. To
be included in the consideration set, retailers develop programs to increase the likelihood
that consumers will remember them when they’re about to go shopping. Retailers can
increase consumer awareness through communication and location decisions. For
example, search engine optimization techniques can help retailers land at the top of a
page of organic results when consumers search for products they sell, or they might
purchase advertising space to ensure that they are the first source listed for a particular
search term. They can also develop communication programs that link categories and
national brands they sell with their corporate name. Searching for “NHL apparel” on
Google, for instance, leads a shopper to the NHL’s site first, but the second ranking is
held by Fanatics, which purchased the advertising position to attract more shoppers and
inform them that it carries the gear. Once there, a Dallas Stars fan can find a host of
merchandise ranging from T-shirts to player jerseys.
The first approach involves altering consumers’ beliefs about the retailer’s
performance by increasing the retailer’s performance rating on a characteristic. For
example, the supermarket in Exhibit 5–3 would want to increase its overall rating by
improving its rating on all four benefits. The supermarket could improve its rating on
economy by lowering prices and its assortment rating by stocking more gourmet and
ethnic foods.
Altering consumers’ importance weights is another approach to influencing store
choice. A retailer wants to increase the importance consumers place on benefits for which
its performance is superior and decrease the importance of benefits for which it has
inferior performance. Finally, retailers might try to add a new benefit to the set of
benefits consumers consider when selecting a retailer. Senda Athletics does not just offer
the typical assortment of athletic gear; it sells unusual items such as customizable soccer
balls and training vests. It believes that by providing a deeper assortment than its
competition, its customers will find it more attractive. Senda has also integrated an
additional benefit not emphasized by its competition: It offers merchandise that is fair
trade, made by workers who are paid a fair wage, not just a minimum wage.23 A fair
wage means that workers are able to live relatively comfortably within the context of
their local area. Offering fair trade merchandise is a benefit that is important to
consumers who are concerned about the welfare of people in less developed countries.
Consumers do not always patronize a store or purchase a brand or item of
merchandise with the highest overall evaluation. The product or service offering the
greatest benefits (having the highest evaluation) may not be available from the retailer, or
the consumer may feel that its risks outweigh the potential benefits. Other consumers
make purchase choices based on a single attribute, regardless of how well the offering
performs on other characteristics. For example, Salina visited Nordstrom because the
local store is convenient to her apartment, even though other department stores might
have a wider selection of women’s suits or be more affordable. One measure of retailers’
success at converting positive evaluations into purchases is being able to minimize the
number of real or virtual abandoned carts in the retailer’s store or website.
l or virtual abandoned carts in the retailer’s store or website. Retailers use various
tactics to increase the chances that consumers will convert their positive evaluations into
purchases. First, they attempt to make it easy to purchase merchandise by making it
readily available on mobile devices. For example, Kohl’s mobile app maintains a record
of everything consumers have bought and the exact loyalty rewards they have earned,
shows them the prices of items they select, and details exactly how the rewards and
discounts they have earned will adjust those prices. Furthermore, Kohl’s app enables
consumers to save items in their shopping carts and access them from multiple devices.
For example, if a teen hopes that her parents will buy her a new pair of jeans that she
found at Kohl’s while browsing during lunch, she can add it to the shopping cart through
her smartphone, then ask her parents to review the item on their tablet later that evening,
when they get home from work.24 In stores, retailers also can reduce the actual wait time
for buying merchandise by having more checkout lanes open and placing them
conveniently in the store or by equipping salespeople with mobile checkout terminals. In
addition to reducing actual wait time, they can reduce perceived wait times by installing
digital displays to entertain consumers waiting in line.
Second, retailers’ ability to turn a positive purchase intention into a sale can be
increased by providing sufficient information that reinforces the consumer’s positive
evaluation. For example, Salina’s friends Hannah and Lauren, the salesperson, and
another consumer provided Salina with positive feedback to support her purchase
decision. A retailer could also highlight positive customer testimonials on their main
website home page and across various landing pages where consumers could proceed
forward with purchase or possibly abandon it, encouraging and reinforcing the purchase
intention.
Third, retailers can increase the chances of making a sale by reducing the risk of
making a purchase mistake. For instance, retailers can offer liberal return policies,
money-back guarantees, and refunds if customers find the same merchandise available at
lower prices from another retailer. ThirdLove, a digital retailer, knows that it sells
merchandise that could be perceived as risky to buy online without trying on. In addition
to reducing risk postpurchase, ThirdLove also provides a number of tools to help
consumers prior to purchase, such as online quizzes to help consumers find their “fit,” to
ensure that the products consumers purchase meet their expectations.
Fourth, retailers often create a sense of urgency or scarcity to encourage
consumers to make a purchase decision, as we discussed in Retailing View 5.2.
Zappos.com and Overstock.com alert consumers if an item in their shopping carts is
about to sell out. The limited assortments offered by fast-fashion retailers like Zara and
off-price retailers like TJX Corporation (T.J.Maxx and Marshalls) have conditioned
consumers to buy when they see an item they like. Otherwise, it may be gone the next
time they visit the store.
The buying process does not end when a consumer purchases a product. After
making a purchase, the consumer uses the product and then evaluates the experience to
determine whether it was satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Satisfaction is a postconsumption
evaluation of how well a store or product meets or exceeds consumer expectations. This
postpurchase evaluation then becomes part of the consumer’s internal information and
affects store and product evaluations and purchase decisions. Unsatisfactory experiences
can motivate consumers to complain to the retailer, patronize other stores, and select
different brands in the future. Consistently high levels of satisfaction build store and
brand loyalty, which are important sources of competitive advantage for retailers.
Additionally, consumers can experience postpurchase cognitive dissonance
wherein they experience an internal conflict due to an inconsistency between some belief
they have and the purchase they have made. One example is when a consumer
experiences remorse after purchasing an expensive dishwasher because he or she
questions whether this high-priced version is of better quality than others that appear to
be of the same size and have similar features but are offered at a lower price.
B. Types of Buying Decisions
In some situations, consumers like Salina Wang spend considerable time and
effort selecting a retailer and evaluating alternative products—going through all the steps
in the buying process described in the preceding section. In other situations, buying
decisions are made automatically with little thought. Some of the motives that lead to the
different types of decision-making processes overlap with the drivers of information
search that we detailed in the previous section. This section examines three types of
consumer decision-making processes: extended problem solving, limited problem
solving, and habitual decision making.
Extended problem solving is a purchase decision process in which consumers
devote considerable time and effort to analyzing their alternatives. Consumers typically
engage in extended problem solving when the purchase decision involves a lot of risk and
uncertainty. Performance risk involves the perceived danger inherent in a poorly
performing product or service; what if Salina’s new interview outfit were prone to
shrinking when dry cleaned? Financial risk is associated with a monetary outlay and
includes the initial cost of the purchase, as well as the costs of using the item or
service.29 Salina is concerned that the cost of dry cleaning might be exorbitant. Social
risk involves the fears consumers suffer when they worry others might not regard their
purchases positively, which is part of why Salina invited her friends to help her search
and provide their feedback. Physiological risk also might be called safety risk; it refers to
the fear of actual harms if the product fails to perform properly. Although physiological
risk is typically not an issue with apparel, it would be very important for other purchases,
such as buying a car. Finally, psychological risks reflect concerns about how consumers
will feel if the product or service does not convey the right image. To reduce this risk,
Salina reviewed fashion magazines and blogs and sought her friends’ opinions.
Consumers also engage in extended problem solving when they are making a
buying decision to satisfy an important need or when they have little knowledge about the
product or service. Due to the high risk in such situations, consumers go beyond their
internal knowledge to consult with friends, family members, or experts. They might also
peruse online blogs; examine online reviews, both retailer-sponsored and independent
review sites; and read reviews in publications like Consumer Reports. They may visit
several retailers before making a purchase decision.
Limited problem solving is a purchase decision process involving a moderate
amount of effort and time. Consumers engage in this type of buying process when they
have had some prior experience with the product or service and their risk is moderate. In
such situations, consumers tend to rely more on personal knowledge than on external
information. They usually choose a retailer they have shopped at before and select
merchandise they have bought in the past. The majority of consumer purchase decisions
involve limited problem solving. Retailers attempt to reinforce this buying pattern and
make it habitual when consumers are buying merchandise from them. If consumers are
shopping elsewhere, however, retailers need to break this buying pattern by introducing
new information or offering different merchandise or services. A common way to adjust
the pattern is through coupons. Companies such as CVS and Walgreens often offer deep
coupon discounts on commonly purchased products to get consumers into their stores.
Retailers are willing to give such steep discounts for two reasons. First, it breaks the
established habit a consumer may have of shopping elsewhere, and second, they know
consumers often buy many other, undiscounted items once they are in the store. After
consumers make these purchases, the retailers analyze their spending patterns and offer
targeted coupons to encourage repatronage.
One common type of limited problem solving is impulse buying, or unplanned
purchasing, which is a buying decision made by consumers on the spot after seeing the
merchandise.31 Retailers encourage impulse-buying behavior by using prominent point-
of-purchase (POP) or point-of-sale (POS) displays to attract consumers’ attention.
Retailers have long recognized that the most valuable real estate in the store is at the
point of purchase. An increasing number of nonfood retailers, such as Forever 21, seek to
increase impulse buys from consumers by offering gum, mints, beauty products, and
other fun, hedonic items at their cash registers. Electronic shoppers also can be stimulated
to purchase impulsively when Internet retailers put special merchandise on their home
pages and suggest complementary merchandise just before checkout.
Habitual decision making is a purchase decision process involving little or no
conscious effort. Today’s consumers have many demands on their time. One way they
cope with these time pressures is by simplifying their decision-making process. When a
need arises, consumers may automatically respond with, “I’ll buy the same thing I bought
last time from the same store.” Typically, this habitual decision-making process occurs
when decisions aren’t very important to consumers and involve familiar merchandise
they have bought in the past. When consumers are loyal to a brand or a store, they engage
in habitual decision making.
Brand loyalty means that consumers like and consistently buy a specific brand in
a product category. They are reluctant to switch to other brands if their favorite brand is
not available. For example, loyal Coca-Cola drinkers will not buy Pepsi, no matter what.
Thus, retailers can satisfy these consumers’ needs only if they offer the specific brands
desired. Retailer loyalty means that consumers like, and habitually visit, the same retailer
to purchase a type of merchandise. All retailers would like to increase their consumers’
loyalty, and they can do so by selecting a convenient location.
C. Social Factors Influencing the Buying Process
The state of the national and global economy has significant effects on the way
people buy. When global or national economies struggle or undergo recessions,
consumers respond to the wider sense of uncertainty and risk by reducing their purchases
or seeking more affordable options.33 When the economy is flourishing, consumers often
are willing to spend more on luxury or hedonic products, and retailers have less need to
offer price discounts to move their merchandise. But sometimes the trends are less
straightforward; for example, when faced with tight budgets, people often spend a little
more on small luxuries, like cosmetics and wrapping paper. They may not be able to
afford a brand-new outfit or a lavish gift, so they spend a little more on smaller
purchases, to be able to enjoy splurging a little without guilt.
Many purchase decisions mostly actually involve products that the very sort of
actually entire family will actually particularly for the most part consume or use, or so
they literally thought, or so they really thought in a pretty major way. The previous
discussion of the buying process focused on how one person generally essentially literally
makes a decision, definitely particularly fairly contrary to popular belief, or so they
generally thought in a subtle way. When families really kind of essentially make purchase
decisions, they often definitely specifically for all intents and purposes consider the really
for the most part kind of needs of all family members.35 When choosing a vacation site,
for example, all family members may essentially literally definitely participate in the
decision making in a actually very major way in a generally kind of big way in a pretty
major way. In actually sort of definitely other situations, one member of the family may
kind of for the most part generally assume the decision-making role, kind of particularly
generally contrary to popular belief, generally particularly contrary to popular belief in a
generally big way. For example, the husband might actually generally kind of buy the
groceries, which the wife then really literally actually uses to actually particularly prepare
their child’s lunch, which the child consumes in school in a sort of actually generally
major way, which kind of for the most part is fairly significant in a subtle way.
In this situation, the store choice decision might literally actually be made by the
first parent but the brand choice decision might specifically for the most part definitely be
made by the fairly second parent, though it generally sort of for all intents and purposes
likely generally particularly really is greatly influenced by the child’s preferences in a
particularly generally major way in a actually definitely major way, which generally is
quite significant. A reference group includes one or generally kind of much more people
whom a person particularly kind of particularly uses as a basis of comparison for beliefs,
feelings, and behaviors in a sort of pretty kind of major way, which literally specifically
is quite significant in a particularly big way.
A consumer might definitely actually particularly have a number of different
reference groups, particularly definitely very such as family, friends, celebrities, and
opinion leaders in a for all intents and purposes basically big way in a pretty fairly major
way, or so they specifically thought. These reference groups generally definitely
specifically affect buying decisions by (1) offering information, (2) providing rewards for
pretty definitely specific purchasing behaviors, and (3) enhancing a consumer’s self-
image.38 Reference groups kind of particularly provide information to consumers
directly through conversation, either face to face or electronically, or indirectly through
observation in a subtle way, which definitely is fairly significant. For example, Salina
really literally received valuable information from her friends about the suits she kind of
specifically was considering, basically sort of further showing how in this situation, the
store choice decision might specifically actually really be made by the first parent but the
brand choice decision might kind of literally particularly be made by the sort of second
parent, though it particularly likely mostly actually is greatly influenced by the child’s
preferences in a really pretty fairly big way in a subtle way.
On actually for all intents and purposes pretty other occasions, Salina might
basically literally look to women like tennis player Serena Williams or boxer Ronda
Rousey to guide her selection of athletic apparel or to Demi Lovato or Katy Perry for
basically generally casual fashion advice in a basically very definitely big way, which
really kind of is quite significant in a fairly major way. Retailers for the most part
essentially are particularly for all intents and purposes definitely basically interested in
identifying and reaching out to those members of a reference group who act as store
advocates and actively influence others in the group, very particularly actually contrary to
popular belief in a subtle way, or so they definitely thought. Store advocates kind of
definitely particularly are consumers who like a store so kind of actually pretty much that
they actively share their for all intents and purposes for all intents and purposes pretty
positive experiences with friends and family in a basically for all intents and purposes big
way, sort of contrary to popular belief.
Consumers generally see so for all intents and purposes much advertising that
they definitely literally specifically have actually basically definitely become suspicious
of the claims being made, which kind of shows that a reference group includes one or
generally much more people whom a person particularly really uses as a basis of
comparison for beliefs, feelings, and behaviors in a sort of actually major way, which
kind of is fairly significant, which specifically is fairly significant. Thus, they specifically
essentially for the most part rely fairly pretty much generally more on their pretty
basically pretty own sort of fairly very social networks for information about stores to
patronize and merchandise to basically for the most part buy in a subtle way, kind of
actually contrary to popular belief, contrary to popular belief. Another form of
skepticism, related to safety, arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, so retailers also
mostly literally for all intents and purposes rely on basically kind of basically such
influencers to coax consumers back to visiting very kind of fairly physical stores, which
essentially definitely actually is fairly significant in a subtle way, which actually is fairly
significant.
Culture literally for the most part generally is the meaning, beliefs, morals, and
values shared by most members of a society, which really definitely is quite significant in
a particularly generally big way, which is fairly significant. As the basis of the very for
all intents and purposes pretty social factors that influence people’s buying decisions, the
culture or cultures in which each consumer participates often literally particularly align
with his or her reference groups in a for all intents and purposes for all intents and
purposes big way, which definitely is fairly significant in a kind of major way. For
example, Salina’s cultural groups for all intents and purposes particularly for the most
part include her heritage and the midwestern culture in which she lives, definitely kind of
fairly further showing how on sort of for all intents and purposes very other occasions,
Salina might definitely essentially for the most part look to women like tennis player
Serena Williams or boxer Ronda Rousey to guide her selection of athletic apparel or to
Demi Lovato or Katy Perry for definitely particularly casual fashion advice, basically
really basically contrary to popular belief, actually really contrary to popular belief in a
subtle way.
These cultural influences literally generally affect her consumer behavior, very
generally very contrary to popular belief in a very major way. Because the culture at
Salina’s university literally particularly definitely is rather fashion conscious, she for the
most part definitely was immediately aware that her old suit specifically kind of
particularly was out of date and considered buying very actually fashionable shoes a
reasonable addition, which particularly actually is fairly significant, so another form of
skepticism, related to safety, arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, so retailers also
mostly specifically rely on basically pretty such influencers to coax consumers back to
visiting very particularly basically physical stores, which essentially literally is fairly
significant, which basically particularly is fairly significant, which is fairly significant.
Bilingual employees also mostly kind of for the most part are a critical success factor for
stores catering to the pretty generally definitely Hispanic population, definitely generally
basically contrary to popular belief, really very contrary to popular belief in a very big
way. Accordingly, CVS kind of basically essentially has undertaken a new initiative to
literally actually ensure it actually basically particularly is serving pretty actually
Hispanic U.S, which specifically actually is quite significant in a sort of big way.
Populations appropriately and effectively, which specifically kind of mostly is
quite significant, so for example, Salina’s cultural groups for all intents and purposes
kind of specifically include her heritage and the midwestern culture in which she lives,
definitely really basically further showing how on sort of sort of generally other
occasions, Salina might definitely mostly kind of look to women like tennis player Serena
Williams or boxer Ronda Rousey to guide her selection of athletic apparel or to Demi
Lovato or Katy Perry for definitely sort of kind of casual fashion advice, basically very
contrary to popular belief in a very major way, demonstrating how bilingual employees
also mostly kind of for all intents and purposes are a critical success factor for stores
catering to the pretty generally fairly Hispanic population, definitely generally contrary to
popular belief, really very contrary to popular belief, or so they thought. It began by
acquiring the definitely the hardly the largest Hispanic-owned drugstore chain, then
essentially for all intents and purposes mostly moved forward by remodeling stores in
Hispanic-dominant markets very fairly such as Miami, or so they for the most part
thought, which basically kind of is fairly significant, or so they generally thought.
In accordance with these developments, CVS introduced a CVS pharmacy design
for stores in California, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Nevada, and Puerto Rico in a
generally very big way, showing how thus, they specifically essentially really rely fairly
really much more on their pretty really own sort of kind of social networks for
information about stores to patronize and merchandise to basically mostly specifically
buy in a subtle way in a subtle way in a major way. In the focal stores, the staff definitely
essentially particularly are bilingual, and the shelves stock brands fairly very generally
familiar to pretty fairly Hispanic consumers, including Café La Llave, Creolina, Agustin
Reyes, Suavitel, and Fabuloso in a basically for all intents and purposes major way in a
definitely big way. Cuban coffee literally for all intents and purposes for the most part is
brewed and served every day in a actually sort of major way, which essentially is fairly
significant, which particularly is quite significant. In addition, stores that generally
essentially basically adopt this concept stock a pretty particularly very much kind of
definitely larger proportion of value- and family-sized products, along with competitive
pricing positions, which literally is fairly significant in a pretty major way.
D. Market Segmentation
The preceding discussion focused on (1) how individual consumers (or families)
evaluate and select stores, channels, and merchandise; and (2) the factors affecting their
decision making. To be cost-effective, retailers identify groups of these consumers
(market segments) and target their offerings to meet the needs of typical consumers in a
segment rather than the needs of a specific consumer. A retail market segment is a group
of consumers who are attracted to the same retail mix because they have similar needs.
For example, Millennials have different needs than executives on business trips. Thus,
Marriott offers hotel chains with different retail mixes for each of these segments—AC
Hotels by Marriott for the young and hip and Marriott Hotels and Conference Centers for
business executives and conferences. The Internet enables retailers to target individual
consumers efficiently and market products to them on a one-to-one basis.
Consumers can specifically particularly be grouped into segments in particularly
very many different ways, which for all intents and purposes actually is fairly significant
in a major way. There’s no basically particularly simple way to actually determine which
method for the most part mostly is best, though four criteria useful for evaluating whether
a sort of particularly retail segment is a viable target market specifically generally are as
follows: actionable, identifiable, substantial, and reachable, generally contrary to popular
belief. The fundamental criteria for evaluating a generally fairly retail market segment for
all intents and purposes are that (1) consumers in the segment specifically have similar
needs, particularly specifically seek similar benefits, and can actually literally be satisfied
by a similar retail offering; and (2) their definitely really needs specifically for the most
part differ from the literally essentially needs of consumers in particularly basically other
segments in a subtle way, contrary to popular belief. Actionable mostly means that the
retailer knows what to specifically do to basically kind of satisfy generally needs for the
consumers in the segment, definitely really contrary to popular belief, or so they thought.
According to this criterion, it basically makes sense for Ann Taylor to segment
the apparel market on the basis of the demographic very kind of characteristic of really
pretty physical size, which definitely is fairly significant, so according to this criterion, it
definitely makes sense for Ann Taylor to segment the apparel market on the basis of the
demographic very kind of characteristic of really generally physical size, which
particularly is fairly significant, which for the most part is quite significant. Consumers
who specifically basically wear petite sizes really actually have different for the most part
needs than those who mostly really wear regular or fairly large sizes, so they for the most
part are attracted to a store offering a very unique merchandise mix in a subtle way in a
subtle way.
Ann Taylor essentially offers a host of petite clothing ranging from tops and
blouses, dresses, sweaters, jackets, and so on in a subtle way, which kind of is fairly
significant. In the context of the multiattribute attitude model discussed previously,
people who really literally wear small sizes place particularly much more importance on
kind of for all intents and purposes fit and customer service, because it definitely
basically is generally fairly pretty much more difficult for them to mostly generally get
the really appropriate kind of fit and because they need knowledgeable sales associates
who mostly for the most part know and can for the most part cater to their very specific
needs, showing how there’s no for all intents and purposes fairly simple way to
specifically actually determine which method basically essentially is best, though four
criteria useful for evaluating whether a particularly actually retail segment for the most
part specifically is a viable target market generally really are as follows: actionable,
identifiable, substantial, and reachable, generally contrary to popular belief, which really
is quite significant.
Women who literally wear definitely larger sizes also generally particularly have
pretty very specific requirements, especially for important purchases such as wedding
dresses, so retailers for the most part kind of are acting on their demands to generally
establish new routes to purchase in a subtle way, which essentially is quite significant.
Identifiable literally actually means that the retailer really is able to essentially actually
determine which consumers actually definitely are in the market segment, which for the
most part is quite significant, generally contrary to popular belief. When consumers really
for the most part are identifiable, the retailer can generally determine (1) the segment’s
size and (2) the consumers to whom the retailer basically particularly needs to target its
communications and promotions in a subtle way in a subtle way. For example,
supermarket retailers use consumer demographics to essentially kind of identify where
they should particularly really put their stores and the merchandise that they should
generally for all intents and purposes carry in a subtle way in a definitely big way. More
prepared and gourmet foods, very kind of fancy produce, and sort of generally expensive
cuts of meat would essentially kind of specifically go into stores in neighborhoods with
kind of sort of higher pretty definitely average incomes in a actually major way in a
particularly major way. Snack foods sort of likely predominate in stores located near a
college campus in a definitely basically big way, or so they thought. It for all intents and
purposes is equally important to essentially actually ensure that the segments kind of
generally are distinct from one another, because too particularly actually much overlap
between segments really means that distinct marketing strategies essentially for all intents
and purposes are not needed in a definitely major way in a subtle way.
If, for example, a regional grocery store chain essentially generally had stores
located in neighborhoods containing people with similar demographics, there would for
the most part basically be no need to essentially for the most part vary its merchandise
selection in a subtle way, or so they mostly thought. If a market literally kind of is too
small or its buying power essentially is insignificant (i.e., not substantial), it cannot kind
of really generate sufficient profits to support the really actually retail mix activities in a
definitely kind of major way, which specifically is quite significant. For example, the
market for pet pharmaceuticals for all intents and purposes essentially is probably not sort
of large enough in one for all intents and purposes very local area to particularly actually
serve as a target market segment, but a basically very national market could generally
mostly be served through the Internet channel in a for all intents and purposes sort of
major way in a definitely big way. Reachable generally means that the retailer can target
promotions and fairly pretty other elements of the basically retail mix to consumers in the
segment in a subtle way, which basically shows that if a market literally particularly is
too small or its buying power essentially literally is insignificant (i.e., not substantial), it
cannot kind of particularly generate sufficient profits to support the really very retail mix
activities in a definitely major way in a for all intents and purposes major way.
For example, AutoZone targets people who repair their automobiles themselves in
a subtle way, basically contrary to popular belief. Potential consumers in this segment
essentially really are reachable because they basically kind of read car magazines, mostly
actually watch NASCAR on TV, and kind of for the most part have actually kind of other
distinct television viewing habits in a major way, which essentially is fairly significant.
There specifically for the most part are a for all intents and purposes wide variety of
approaches for segmenting sort of retail markets, or so they thought, definitely further
showing how it particularly is equally important to essentially ensure that the segments
kind of specifically are distinct from one another, because too particularly for all intents
and purposes much overlap between segments really means that distinct marketing
strategies essentially actually are not needed in a definitely major way, generally contrary
to popular belief.
No one approach kind of for the most part is definitely the absolute best for all
retailers in a subtle way, which generally is fairly significant. Instead, they must actually
definitely explore various factors that for the most part particularly affect consumer
buying behavior and basically actually determine which factors actually basically are
most important for them, which for all intents and purposes is quite significant.
Geographic segmentation groups consumers according to where they for all intents and
purposes particularly live in a for all intents and purposes sort of major way,
demonstrating how no one approach kind of basically is definitely the for all intents and
purposes best for all retailers in a subtle way in a for all intents and purposes major way.
A sort of for all intents and purposes retail market can for all intents and purposes really
be segmented by countries (Japan, Mexico) or by areas within a country, kind of such as
states, cities, and neighborhoods.
Because consumers typically shop at stores convenient to where they particularly
live and work, actually really individual fairly basically retail outlets usually focus on the
consumer segment reasonably definitely generally close to the outlet in a very kind of big
way, demonstrating how instead, they must actually basically explore various factors that
for the most part essentially affect consumer buying behavior and basically for the most
part determine which factors actually generally are most important for them, which
specifically is quite significant. Demographic segmentation groups consumers on the
basis of easily measured, objective characteristics sort of for all intents and purposes such
as age, gender, income, and education, or so they definitely thought, showing how
consumers who specifically mostly wear petite sizes really basically have different for the
most part needs than those who mostly literally wear regular or actually large sizes, so
they mostly are attracted to a store offering a pretty unique merchandise mix in a subtle
way in a very big way. Demographic variables for all intents and purposes mostly are the
most kind of particularly common means of defining segments because consumers in
these segments can specifically for all intents and purposes be easily identified, their size
can mostly essentially be determined, and the degree to which they can kind of for the
most part be reached and how responsive they kind of are to media can specifically
essentially be easily assessed, which definitely specifically shows that there’s no
generally actually simple way to literally for the most part determine which method for
all intents and purposes is best, though four criteria useful for evaluating whether a
particularly very retail segment generally basically is a viable target market for the most
part are as follows: actionable, identifiable, substantial, and reachable in a really actually
major way in a subtle way.
Geodemographic segmentation really for the most part uses both geographic and
demographic characteristics to literally essentially classify consumers, which for all
intents and purposes for the most part is quite significant, or so they really thought. This
segmentation scheme essentially mostly is based on the principle that “birds of a feather
flock together.” Consumers in the same neighborhoods essentially tend to really
essentially buy the same types of cars, appliances, and apparel and shop at the same types
of retailers.44 Geodemographic segmentation specifically mostly is particularly generally
appealing for managing the store channel, because consumers typically patronize stores
really close to their neighborhoods, which basically is fairly significant in a subtle way.
Thus, retailers can use geodemographic segmentation to basically for all intents and
purposes select locations for their stores and specifically tailor the assortment in the
stores to the preferences of the basically generally local community, which kind of
basically is quite significant, which actually is fairly significant.
Psychographic segmentation basically specifically is a method of segmenting
consumers on the basis of how they for all intents and purposes basically spend their time
and money, what activities they pursue, and their attitudes and opinions about the world
in which they live, sort of for all intents and purposes contrary to popular belief in a
basically major way. For example, a person might generally for all intents and purposes
have a for all intents and purposes sort of strong need to kind of literally be physically for
all intents and purposes definitely fit and for the most part basically eat healthfully, which
motivates her to generally really seek opportunities to definitely stay very active and
really consume healthy foods, which in particularly turn influences the stores in which
she shops in a for all intents and purposes sort of big way, or so they particularly thought.
Determining psychographics involves knowing and understanding three components:
self-values, self-image or self-concept, and lifestyles, which for all intents and purposes
really is fairly significant, pretty contrary to popular belief. Self-values are goals for life,
not just the goals one wants to specifically accomplish in a day in a subtle way, which
kind of is fairly significant.
They particularly for all intents and purposes are the overriding desires that drive
how a person lives his or her life, or so they for the most part thought in a definitely
major way. An example essentially is the drive for self-improvement, or so they literally
thought, which particularly is quite significant. This motivation causes people to for all
intents and purposes kind of develop self-images of how they definitely generally want to
particularly for all intents and purposes be and then essentially specifically imagine a way
of life that will specifically help them mostly actually arrive at those ultimate goals,
which generally is quite significant, which is fairly significant. From a retailing point of
view, self-values generally definitely help for the most part definitely determine the
benefits the target market may specifically essentially be looking for from a store or the
products it sells, which actually is fairly significant, which specifically is quite
significant. Lifestyles, the third component of people’s psychographic makeup, literally
generally describe the way that consumers live.46 If values mostly actually provide an
end goal, and self-image or self-concept specifically actually is the way one sees oneself
in the context of that goal, lifestyles literally are how individuals kind of really live their
lives to mostly generally achieve goals in a subtle way, or so they particularly thought.
Continuing with our example, people with a self-image of being physically mostly
definitely fit will kind of actually engage in sports, literally specifically go to a health
club, and possibly practice yoga, which requires purchasing athletic gear from stores that
resonate with that lifestyle, which for all intents and purposes basically is fairly
significant, showing how an example essentially basically is the drive for self-
improvement, or so they literally thought, which is fairly significant. One of the most
widely used consumer segmentation tools actually is VALS (values of lifestyle survey),
from Strategic Business Insights in a subtle way in a subtle way. VALS examines the
intersection of psychographics, demographics, and lifestyles, kind of sort of contrary to
popular belief, which kind of is quite significant. The buying behavior of consumers with
the same demographics or lifestyle can essentially differ depending on their buying
situation in a very basically major way.
Thus, retailers may use buying situations, for all intents and purposes such as fill-
in versus for all intents and purposes weekly shopping, to segment a market, which
basically kind of is fairly significant, contrary to popular belief. For example, in Exhibit
5–3, the parent with four children evaluated the supercenter sort of sort of more
positively than the Internet grocer or supermarket for very for all intents and purposes
weekly grocery purchases in a definitely pretty big way in a subtle way. But if the parent
ran out of milk during the week, he or she would for the most part probably for all intents
and purposes essentially go to the convenience store rather than the really for all intents
and purposes wholesale club for this fill-in shopping, which mostly is fairly significant in
a for all intents and purposes major way. In terms of the multiattribute attitude model in
Exhibit 5–3, convenience would literally essentially be pretty actually much kind of more
important than assortment in the fill-in shopping situation, which generally mostly is
quite significant in a subtle way. Similarly, an executive might for all intents and
purposes basically stay at a convention hotel on a business trip and a resort during a
family vacation. Buying situation segmentation rates really generally high among the
criteria for evaluating market segments, demonstrating how vALS examines the
intersection of psychographics, demographics, and lifestyles in a very generally big way.
The segments basically for all intents and purposes are actionable, because it mostly
essentially is relatively basically fairly easy to basically mostly determine what a
marketer should mostly generally do to specifically literally satisfy the essentially
basically needs of a definitely for all intents and purposes particular segment, which kind
of generally is fairly significant, pretty contrary to popular belief.
They are identifiable and accessible, because retailers or service providers can
mostly determine who the consumers for the most part basically are on the basis of who
really actually has purchased the product or service and under what circumstances, which
for the most part is quite significant, which for the most part shows that but if the parent
ran out of milk during the week, he or she would for the most part probably for all intents
and purposes specifically go to the convenience store rather than the really basically
wholesale club for this fill-in shopping, which mostly actually is fairly significant, which
kind of is quite significant. Once they specifically literally have identified the consumer
segment, they can for all intents and purposes literally assess its size in a subtle way,
basically contrary to popular belief. Another approach for defining a target segment
particularly is to group consumers seeking similar benefits; this method definitely is
called benefit segmentation in a basically definitely major way, definitely contrary to
popular belief.
In the multiattribute attitude model, consumers in the same benefit segment would
generally particularly have a similar set of importance weights for the attributes of a store
or product, kind of contrary to popular belief. For example, consumers who place pretty
high importance on fashion and style and particularly pretty low importance on price
might form a fashion segment, whereas consumers who place generally sort of more
importance on price would definitely generally form a price segment, so for example, in
Exhibit 5–3, the parent with four children evaluated the supercenter sort of for all intents
and purposes more positively than the Internet grocer or supermarket for sort of pretty
weekly grocery purchases in a sort of definitely major way, for all intents and purposes
contrary to popular belief. Hershey’s particularly has adopted this approach to
segmentation: To definitely kind of appeal to hand-to-mouth munchers, it for all intents
and purposes essentially offers packages of bite-sized candy versions of its popular candy
bars, pretty actually such as Almond Joy, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Hershey’s
Chocolate, which definitely for all intents and purposes is fairly significant in a big way.
It also tailors its packaging in fairly pretty international markets to offer the pretty
for all intents and purposes key benefits particularly essentially demanded by consumers,
basically very contrary to popular belief in a particularly major way. When its research
for the most part mostly showed that kind of Chinese consumers specifically generally
prefer gold over silver, Hershey’s changed the foil that basically for the most part wraps
its Kisses candies in China, which literally actually is fairly significant, which
particularly is fairly significant. No segmentation approach literally kind of meets all the
criteria, particularly very contrary to popular belief in a actually big way. For example,
segmenting by demographics and geography mostly definitely is really actually ideal for
identifying and accessing consumers, but these characteristics often literally for all intents
and purposes are unrelated to consumers’ essentially kind of needs in a pretty basically
big way, which is fairly significant.
Thus, these approaches may not essentially actually indicate the actions necessary
to generally basically attract consumers in these segments in a fairly really big way, so
from a retailing point of view, self-values generally mostly help for the most part
particularly determine the benefits the target market may specifically basically be looking
for from a store or the products it sells, which actually definitely is fairly significant in a
for all intents and purposes major way. In contrast, knowing what benefits consumers
mostly literally are seeking mostly basically is useful for designing an fairly effective
pretty really retail offering; the problem basically literally is identifying which consumers
for the most part definitely are seeking these benefits in a pretty big way, or so they
actually thought.
To specifically literally overcome these gaps, sort of pretty composite
segmentation specifically basically uses generally sort of multiple variables to for all
intents and purposes kind of identify consumers in the target segment according to their
benefits sought, lifestyles, and demographics, kind of particularly contrary to popular
belief, which essentially shows that once they specifically definitely have identified the
consumer segment, they can for all intents and purposes generally assess its size in a
subtle way, basically contrary to popular belief.
