Consumer Behaviour Trends
Consumer behaviour is a study of what actions and considerations are taken by shoppers throughout the buying process.
There are 5 phases to the online buying process. These phases are all outlined below:
Phase 1 – Problem Recognition
The first phase occurs when a problem or limitation arises for the buyer that makes them need a new product. For example, if the shopper’s MP3 player runs out of memory space, they need to buy one with more storage capacity. This phase is no different for online and offline shoppers, but in the next phase the differences start to occur.
Phase 2 – Information Search
In this phase, the buyer begins to conduct research to find the item they would most desire. They can do this with either internal or external searches, or both. Internal searching involves the buyer using their memory to recall past buying experiences.
This is most common with items that need to purchase on a regular basis such as groceries, toiletries and travel tickets.
External searching involves looking to others for recommendations, which can come from friends, family or from reading product reviews.
This is the phase where we see the biggest difference between our online shoppers and offline shoppers. Online shoppers have a wealth of information freely available to them at their fingertips via the internet. They can access product reviews, price comparisons and information. Offline shoppers would do their research within retail environments, and would be able to feel and touch the products before buying.
Phase 3 – Information Evaluation
This stage is similar for both the online and offline shoppers. It is when the shopper takes all the information they have accumulated and filters through it to narrow down their choices to pick the best product to buy.
Phase 4 – The Buying Decision
Now the buyer chooses not only what to buy, but where to buy it from. The decision of where to buy from can be influenced by prices, shipping costs and the reputation of the retailer. For online shopping, the trustworthiness of a retailer is extremely important, as shoppers tend to be much more cautious when buying online. For this reason, online shoppers usually swing towards larger brand with a good reputation.
Phase 5 – Post Purchase Evaluation
After buying a product, shoppers will always evaluate whether they have spent their money wisely. This could be in the form of a survey or a repeat purchase.
As we can see, consumer buying behaviour is something that businesses need to have a good understanding of. With this knowledge, a retailer’s website can be optimized to capitalize on typical buying behaviour in order to improve sales performances.
As we can see, consumer buying behaviour is something that businesses need to have a good understanding of. With this knowledge, a retailer’s website can be optimized to capitalize on typical buying behaviour in order to improve sales performances.
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