Consumer behavior. Features

What is the guideline for the average buyer when choosing a particular product? The behavior of consumers, the factors on which they make their decision, have long been the focus of attention of marketers, psychologists, economists, and simply all those engaged in trafficking. So, what does modern economic theory say about this?

Basic postulates

In order to understand what the consumer's behavior in a market economy depends on and what its mechanism is, economists rely on a number of the following provisions:

1. Rationality. The final choice of the buyer largely depends on his system of preferences. The same good for different people will have a different value, which is determined by an individual evaluation of the utility of a product. Each buyer seeks a specific assortment of vital benefits. There is no objective scale of utility, consumer behavior depends on his subjective preferences. At the same time, every person knows what particular benefits he needs, he can compare their sets and choose what will be most preferable for him. This is rationality.
2. Sovereignty. Any buyer makes a personal decision to purchase a good, which in no way can have a significant impact on the producers. Nevertheless, thanks to the market mechanism, individual consumer choices are summarized, and this result influences the further development of the manufacturer's business. If the buyers gave preference to some good, then the producer gets a profit, his business is booming. In other words, the sovereignty of the consumer means his power over the market, the ability to determine what and how much will go to the store shelves.
3. Multiplicity. The diversity of the needs of the individual and of the whole society leads to the fact that there is an abundance of all kinds of benefits on the market aimed at satisfying these or those needs. Therefore, the behavior of consumers is influenced by the fact that there is always something to choose from, there are various options for how this can be done.

How to buy

The whole process of making a decision regarding the purchase of a good or service is divided into five stages:

- the definition of a person's needs ;

- search and identification of all alternatives;

- evaluation of each option;

- making decisions and making purchases;

- post-purchase analysis.

Consumer behavior is a kind of reaction to the incentive actions of marketing incentives: the product, its price, methods of distribution and ways to influence customers. These factors, acting along with other irritants (cultural, economic, political, etc.) into the "black box" of the buyer's mind, provoke a reaction (choice of goods, brand, purchase time, etc.).

Influence of a surname on ability to make purchases

Consumer behavior is a very complex process. Despite the fact that at the current moment there are many models, schools and directions in studying the actions of the buyer, the study sometimes brings interesting surprises. Thus, American scientists have discovered that people who have one of the last letters of the alphabet at the beginning of the surname make the decision faster than others to make a purchase. This is explained by the fact that since childhood they have end up in the queues and different lists, and therefore in adulthood they are afraid to miss the profitable offers. And who knows what other secrets are hidden in our minds?