Purchasing decision factors

Consumers on a daily basis make purchasing decisions on the basis of perceptions of how products stack up against one another. Many factors may affect perceived product attractiveness price, function, look, style, status, etc. And while products vary across indication and consumers are not identical in their choice criteria, understanding the process through which purchasing decisions are made is vital when analyzing consumer markets. 

Several vendors manufacture liquid dispensers, plate storage and incubator devices, and plate detection instruments that are the three major components used in compound screens. Selection of equipment is usually based on several factors including need, previous experience, recommendations, cost, available funding, and quality of post-sale service provided by the instrument vendor. Many instruments from different manufacturers such as the photomultiplier tube (PMT)-based plate readers exhibit similar function and performance. Therefore, reliability, cost, and service quality become the dominating factors for purchase decisions. 

The color of red wine is an important aspect of red wine quality, and is a major factor by which wine is initially assessed, often affecting purchasing decisions. Because of this, improving and stabilizing red wine color is a perennial concern in the wine industiy. 

The final Study reported here was just completed by Ruth King, a Doctoral student at The University of Tennessee. The Intent of the study was to evaluate the effects of perceived product attributes of functionally designed protective apparel and of risk related factors influencing the adoptlon/purchase decision (9). This discussion will focus on the first objective, which was to determine if significant differences existed between garment selection when information was withheld relative to the product attributes of cost, comfort and penetration. 

There are basically three types of distribution that can be used to make product available to consumers intensive distribution, selective distribution, and exclusive distribution. In intensive distribution, the product is sold to as many appropriate retailers or wholesalers as possible. Intensive distribution is appropriate for products such as chewing gum, candy bars, soft drinks, bread, film, and cigarettes, where the primary factor influencing the purchase decision is convenience. Industrial products that may require intensive distribution include pencils, paper clips, transparent tape, file folders, typing paper, transparency masters, and screws and nails. 

Flavors can be among the most valuable ingredients, and many food products on the market have their own distinct aromas. The aroma of a product can be a main driver in a consumer s purchase decision. For example, most people who purchase personal care products, for example, shower gels or shampoos, wiU firstly open the bottle in order to sample their aromas. In this context, packaging manufacturers and brand owners are seeking ways to communicate their offer while keeping their products properly packaged and safe. Aroma/flavor of a food product can also be a key factor in the consumer s experience with the product prior to consumption. 

Eco-labels and social labels are sometimes effective tools enabling communication with consumers and are major factors driving purchasing decisions. Eco-labels... 

Everyday consumption practices are still heavily driven by convenience, habit, value for money, personal health concerns, hedonism, and individual responses to social and institutional norms, and these practices are resistant to change (Vermeir and Verbeke, 2006). For a number of years many retailers have studied the factors driving consumer preferences and have developed various purchasing decision hierarchies to try to explain how consumers determine which brand to shop with and what products they ultimately purchase. Figure 8.6 shows the traditional clothing decision or buying hierarchy with the more influential factors at the top of the hierarchy and the... 

Hogarth and Kunreuther [16] found uncertainty of risk knowledge an important factor in consumer decision making. The study was one of the few applied to consumer purchase decisions, but it did not involve online security risks. However, they pointed out that the standard lab cases of gambling used in most prior decision studies did not capture the variety of decision choices faced by people in the real world. Roca, Hogarth, and Maule [24] concurred that future decision research should be extended to a broader range of contexts and response modes, such as willingness to pay for uncertainties and risks. 

An environmental factor This is another indirect factor, related to the environment in which employees operate. This could include improperly maintained eqmpment, rmsafe building design, or poor purchasing decisions. 

Most of the research in economics and marketing models the demand only as a function of price, assuming that firms compete mainly on price. In contrast, the operations literature usually takes the price (and demand) as given, and tries to minimize cost and/or maximize customer service. However, for most customers the purchasing decision involves trading off many factors in-... 

In perhaps the majority of pipe selection situations the initial purchase price of the pipe, for a given size, is a decisive factor in material selection. The selling price set by the... 

Whilst at the moment this is not seen by manufactures as an important factor in purchasing decisions by customers, EPD information can be found on a variety of automotive websites including Mercedes-Benz,... 

The following three easy steps are not new, save one more factor for your purchasing decision environmental impact. These steps should assist you in making the right choices for your company and minimizing e-waste. 

Although public and private sector procurement share some similarities, they play distinctively different roles in the market place. Government agencies typically buy products designed and manufactured by the private sector, and as purchasers are concerned about price, performance, and availability. Unlike the government, companies are also suppliers and must take actions that make their products competitive, such as cost, time to market, performance, and other factors that affect sales and profit. Typically, these are not matters that play a role in government purchasing decisions. 

Private sector purchasing decisions typically do not take into account economic, social, or political factors but this is changing, especially as it relates to the issue of the environment. Companies are rapidly becoming aware that it is good business to be environmentally conscious. Given the worldwide interest in the environmental movement, companies feel the need to respond by providing more environmentally friendly products and utilizing this as a method to differentiate their products from competitors. 

Producers such as automakers have not seen a strong correlation between customer s words and actions. That is, there are claims that environmental performance is important in their purchasing decision, but postpurchase surveys place environmental concerns well below other factors such as a vehicle s comfort, size, color, engine performance, etc. [2]. Studies have been conducted that if environmental characteristics are the sole focus, the marketing will be relatively unsuccessful. However, if other product benefits are linked to the environmental attributes, most consumers will give such products favorable consideration [10]. 

Aquaculturists may elect to purchase animals for stocking or maintain their own broodstock and hatchery. The decision may rest on such factors as the availabihty and cost of fry fish, post-larval fish, oyster spat, or other eady life history stages in the location selected for the aquaculture venture. 

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