Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada Buying and Disposing Chapter 10 Copyright 2008 Pearson Education Canada

Situational Effects on Consumer Behaviour A consumer’s choices are affected by many personal factors…and the sale doesn’t end at the time of purchase Antecedent States Situational Factors Usage Contexts Time Pressure Mood Shopping Orientation Purchase Environment Shopping Experience Point-of-Purchase Stimuli Sales Interactions Postpurchase Processes Consumer Satisfaction Product Disposal Alternative Markets Figure 10.1

Situational Effects on Consumer Behaviour (Cont’d) Consumption situation Situational effects can be behavioural or perceptual We tailor our purchases to specific occasions The way we feel at a particular time affects what we buy or do Day Reconstruction Method Situational self-image (“Who am I right now?”)

Social and Physical Surroundings Affect a consumer’s motives for product usage and product evaluation Décor, odors, temperature Co-consumers as product attribute Large numbers of people = arousal Interpretation of arousal: density vs. crowding Type of consumer patrons

Temporal Factors “Time is money!” Careful information search/deliberation = luxury of time Scooping up anything left on shelves = last-minute gift

Economic Time Time = economic variable Timestyle: consumers try to maximize satisfaction by dividing time among activities/tasks Perception of time poverty One-third of Canadians report feeling rushed We may just have more options for spending time and feel pressured by weight of all choices Marketing innovations that allow us to save time Polychronic activity/multitasking

Psychological Time Fluidity of time (subjective experience) Time categories relevant to marketers Good times for ads: occasion/leisure times and time to kill Bad times for ads: flow and deadline times Five time perspective metaphors Time is a pressure cooker Time is a map Time is a mirror Time is a river Time is a feast

Psychological Time (Cont’d) Experience of time results from culture Linear separable time Queuing theory: mathematical study of waiting lines Waiting for product = good quality Too much waiting = negative feelings Marketers use “tricks” to minimize psychological waiting time

Antecedent States Mood/physiological condition influences what we buy and how we evaluate product Stress impairs info-processing and problem solving Pleasure and arousal Mood = combination of pleasure and arousal Happiness = high in pleasantness and moderate in arousal Mood biases judgments of products/services Moods are affected by store design, music, TV programs

Dimensions of Emotional States Figure 10-2

Shopping: A Job or an Adventure? Social motives for shopping are important Shopping for utilitarian or hedonic reasons Women “shop to love,” while men “shop to win” The reasons we shop are more complex than may appear on the surface!

Reasons for Shopping Shopping orientation Varies by product category, store type, and culture Hedonic shopping motives include: Social experiences Sharing of common interests Interpersonal attraction Instant status The thrill of the hunt

Shopping Types Economic consumer Personalized consumer Ethical consumer Apathetic consumer Recreational shopper

E-Commerce: Clicks vs. Bricks Is e-commerce destined to replace traditional retailing? E-commerce can reach customers around the world, but competition increases exponentially and it cuts out middleman Benefits: good customer service, technology value (Eddie Bauer) Limitations: security/identity theft, actual shopping experience, large delivery/return shipping charges

Retailing as Theater Competition for customers is becoming intense as nonstore alternatives multiply Malls gain loyalty by appealing to social motives (malls as “mini-amusement parks”) Retail theming techniques: Landscape themes Marketscape themes Cyberspace themes Mindscape themes

Store Image Stores have “personalities” Location + merchandise suitability + knowledge/congeniality of sales staff Some factors in overall evaluation of a store: Interior design Types of patrons Return policies Credit availability

Atmospherics Conscious designing of space and its dimensions to evoke certain effects in buyers Colours/lighting, scents, and sounds/music affect time spent in store as well as spending levels Activity stores Build-A-Bear Workshop chain Club Libby Lu Viking Home Chef and Viking Culinary Academy

Spontaneous Shopping Unplanned buying vs. impulse buying Wider aisles with highest profit margins to encourage browsing Portable shopper in grocery stores Planners vs. partial planners vs. impulse purchasers

Point-of-Purchase Stimuli POP: can be an elaborate product display or demonstration, a coupon-dispensing machine, or even someone giving out free samples Elizabeth Arden computer makeover system Timex watch sitting in bottom of aquarium Tower Records music sampler Kellogg’s Corn Flakes sound button in stores

The Salesperson A very important in-store factor! Exchange theory: every interaction involves an exchange of value Expertise, likeability (similarity, appearance), commercial friendship Dyadic relationship between buyer/seller Identity negotiation Salespersons’ interaction styles differ Discussion: What qualities seem to differentiate good and bad salespeople?

Discussion The mall of the future will most likely be less about purchasing products than exploring them in a physical setting This means that retail environments will have to become places to build brand images, rather than just places to sell products What are some strategies stores can use to enhance the emotional/sensory experiences their customers receive?

Postpurchase Satisfaction CS/D determined by attitude about product after purchase Marketers constantly on lookout for sources of consumer dissatisfaction United Airlines’ “United Rising” campaign

Perceptions of Product Quality We want quality and value in our products! Product quality = competitive advantage Cues for quality and reduced risk: Brand name Price Advertising campaign expenditures Product warranties Follow-up letters from company Discussion: What is “quality”?

Quality Is What We Expect It to Be Marketers: quality = “good” Expectancy disconfirmation model of product performance Expectations determine satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction Importance of managing expectations Marketers should not promise what they can’t deliver! Product failure: marketers must reassure customers with honesty of problem

Managing Quality Expectations Figure 10.4

Acting on Dissatisfaction Voice response Private response Third-party response Marketers need to encourage/respond to customers’ complaints! Shoppers who get their problems resolved feel even better about the store than if nothing had gone wrong Factors in customer dissatisfaction response Expensive products Products from a store Older people

Discussion Is the customer always right? Why or why not?

TQM: Going to the Gemba How people actually interact with their environment in order to identify potential problems Gemba: the one true source of information Need to send marketers/designers to the precise place of product consumption Host Foods study in airport cafeterias

Product Disposal Strong product attachment = painful disposal process! Possessions = identity anchors Ease of product disposal is now a key product attribute to consumers Disposal options Keep old item Temporarily dispose of it Permanently dispose of it

Disposal Options Reasons for product replacement Desire for new features Change in consumer’s environment Change in consumer’s role/self-image Public policy implications of product disposition Recycling is a priority in many countries Means-end chain analysis study of lower-order goals linked to abstract terminal values when consumers recycle Perceived effort involved in recycling as predictor

Lateral Cycling: Junk vs. “Junque” Already purchased products are sold to others or exchanged for still other things Flea markets, garage sales, classified ads, bartering for services, hand-me-downs, etc. $850,000 for Jerry Garcia’s guitar! Divestment rituals Iconic transfer Transition-place Ritual cleansing Internet has revolutionized lateral cycling

Discussion Interview people who have sold items at a flea market or garage sale Ask them to identify some items to which they had a strong attachment See if you can prompt them to describe one or more divestment rituals they went through as they prepared to offer these items for sale