Chapter 1 The Consumer in the Marketplace and Conducting Consumer Research

For Hannah and her parents, it is decision time. The university where Hannah is studying has decided to go to “ubiquitous computing,” which means that all students must have laptops in all their classes. The classrooms have been wired to allow connection to the Internet, the library, the university, and college-based servers. Special software needed in courses such as communications, graphic design, psychology, media planning, research, anthropology, retailing, advertising, and marketing strategy will also be accessible in class.

The decision Hannah and her parents must make is both simple and complicated. It is simple in that a computer needs to be purchased, yet complicated because of the number of choices. Hannah’s parents are involved because her mom has experience as a consumer of laptops, and they will all have to consider price limits when making their decision. Costlier laptops have more “bells and whistles,” but all the functions might not be needed. Hannah needs to determine what the machine must be able to do, how much searching she and her parents are willing to engage in, how the computers will be evaluated and compared, where the final choice will be purchased, and how payment will be made. Certainly, you may think of other questions and steps that you’d be faced with if in this situation, but this overview paints a typical picture.

Hannah and her parents will move through a distinct sequence of steps leading to the decision of which laptop to buy. She’ll prioritize the benefits needed and compare different options, and she and her parents will make a choice. As she uses the new computer, Hannah will naturally evaluate the decision, and what she learns and feels about it will drive future related decisions. In this chapter, we explore the process consumers go through as they move toward a purchase decision and some of the factors that influence them along the way. When searching for information, people act as shoppers. In this case, Hannah and one or more of her parents may do some of this shopping as they look for the “best” solution. The person among the three who actually completes the transaction will be the “buyer,” regardless of the source of payment. Then Hannah will be the consumer of the computer as she uses it.