Purchase decision
In business and especially in marketing, purchase decisions are the decisions that are made on a daily basis by private individuals , investors , but also by buyers of organizations and which have the purchase of goods or services as their object.
General
Buying decisions are part of buying behavior . In colloquial language , but also in business terminology , the term “purchase decision” is often used synonymously with the terms “purchase decision process ” or “purchase decision making ” for reasons of linguistic economy . This makes it clear that the purchase decision represents the final act in a previous decision-making process .
In a broader sense, purchase decisions are the entire process from perception of a product or service to its acquisition. In the narrower sense, the purchase decision is understood to mean only the making of the purchase decision. Like any other decision, the purchase decision is made on the basis of the information available, taking into account overarching goals ( personal goals for private households , corporate goals for companies ). The at least two alternative courses of action generally required for decision-making can consist of buying more expensive ( luxury goods ) or cheaper ( cheap goods ) objects, buying other brands or in other shops ; the alternative “no purchase” does not appear when making a purchase decision. Information can market data on the Property to be ( necessary , purchase risk, scarcity , market price , delivery service , delivery time , product testing , advertising ), but also sensations or stimuli (such as thirst or hunger ). The multitude of information ( information overload , overstimulation ) is reduced through selective perception to just a few, on which the purchase decision is ultimately based.
species
In general, a distinction is made between the following purchase decisions:
- The impulsive purchase decision is characterized by low mental control, combined with strong stimuli, emotional charging or affective enjoyment ( spontaneous purchase ).
- The habitual or habitualized purchase decision is based on habits and is largely automated. Here, too, mental control and psychological activation are low ( supplier loyalty , brand loyalty ).
- In the simplified (limited) purchase decision product selection means of proven decision criteria occurs ( English evoked set ; approximately equal to the price target performance). The mental control and the psychological activation hardly influence the purchase decision (e.g. purchase of food such as convenience food , beverages or goods for everyday use).
- The extensive purchase decision provides to the consumer a learning process is long decision duration, with a high mental control and high mental activation associated. This type of decision occurs in purchase decisions that are associated with a high financial burden due to the amount of the purchase price ( car purchase, purchase of a property ).
If a purchase decision is repeated over time, this can be managed through repeated habitual, simplified or extensive decisions.
In addition, a distinction can be made between rational and emotional purchase decisions , depending on whether they are based on the rational principle or rather on emotions . Rational decision-making basis is, for example, the utility value ( private individuals ) or the chance of profit ( retailer ), while the emotional consumption as a feeling or the product as a status symbol are in the foreground. Emotions are reactions to a stimulus, "can be pleasant or unpleasant, more or less consciously felt and evaluated and are of a limited duration".
Process flow
Buying behavior and the purchasing decision process are the result of a complex interaction of cultural, social, personal and psychological factors. The purchase decision process begins with problem identification ( need ), followed by information search , information processing , evaluation of alternatives , formation of preferences , purchase decision and the purchase act as such. If the purchase decision is postponed ( e.g. due to leapfrogging ), the purchase decision process starts again later.
Purchase motives and purchase restrictions
As a rule, consumers make purchase decisions with the intention of using , using or consuming the objects of purchase on a permanent basis . The operational purpose of the trade levels in trade ( wholesale , retail , mail order ), on the other hand, is the resale of the merchandise , so that purchasing decisions by buyers are only of a temporary nature. In the production economy this is the case at processing stages , the purchase decision of which is linked to the goal of further processing in the prefabrication of intermediate goods .
For some, buying properties there at a purchasing decision require approval by third parties , such as the prescription of medicines and medical devices by physicians ( § 48 German Medicines Act ) or suitability statement of financial products by banks in the investment advice of private investors ( § 64 para. 4 WpHG ). A purchase decision is not possible if there is a prohibition of purchase , such as in the case of stolen goods ( § 259 StGB ) or product piracy , the goods of which are subject to confiscation ( § 142a PatG ). In the case of rare repurchases , the seller may repurchase the object of purchase from the buyer by means of a unilateral declaration ( Section 456 of the German Civil Code ), so that other buyers cannot make a purchase decision. The court prohibition of acquisition of § 938 ZPO from a preliminary injunction is a prohibition to acquire a certain object ; accordingly, a purchase decision is not possible here.
Consequences and goals
A purchase decision is connected with economic and legal consequences, because the purchase decision striking economic agent is thereby to the buyer with a seller a purchase contract (or other contract closes) and, among others, the purchase price has to be paid. In return , he receives the purchase object from the seller. Material goods such as goods of all kinds and immaterial goods such as services or rights can be considered as objects of purchase . The payment of the purchase price reduces the income or assets or increasing the debt of the buyer, which especially in prime buying objects or continuing obligations is the case. Therefore, the rule is that spontaneous purchases should only be made for low-value items, while high-quality items should be made with the help of extensive purchase decisions after careful consideration.
The terms of delivery and payment must also be observed by the buyer . When buying in floor trading , he receives the goods step by step against payment of the purchase price, which he can settle by cash or cashless payment . In the mail order business , only cashless payment is possible. What is important for the buyer is the transfer of risk , with which the risk of deterioration or loss of the goods is connected to the buyer.
As a further consequence of the purchase decision, there is a possible purchase regret , a cognitive dissonance (" post-purchase dissonance "), which raises doubts about the correctness of a purchase decision. If purchasing decisions are mainly made “on the gut”, the mind usually switches on again after the purchase and calls up rational arguments that speak against the purchase decision. When purchasing on a trial basis , the buyer has the right to revoke his reservation decision within a period of time and to return the purchase object to the seller. The purchase decision is only final when the purchase item is approved by the buyer or after the deadline has expired. If a buyer is in error when submitting his declaration of intent (the purchase decision) , he has either made his purchase decision under the wrong assumption , or he is making a mistake in expressing his decision . In certain cases regulated by sales law ( error of content , error of characteristics or error of explanation ), the buyer then has the right to contest the contract , whereby the buyer's declaration of intent on which the contract is based and thus the contract itself become ineffective from the start .
Like every decision, the purchase decision is also subject to a goal to be observed ( personal goal for private households , corporate goal for companies). In the case of private individuals, the purchase decision must contribute to maximizing benefits , in the case of companies to maximizing profits .
Sales decision
In the case of an exchange of services, the buyer's decision to buy is opposed to the seller's decision to sell . The latter is the decision of the seller of a purchase object to conclude a contract. What has been said about the purchase decision applies accordingly to this decision. The contract is only concluded if the declarations of intent of the supplier and the customer correspond. A sales decision is not always the reaction to a previous purchase decision, but can also be made independently by economic subjects, for example when selling objects of use .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lutz von Rosenstiel / Alexander Kirsch, Psychologie der Werbung , 1996, p. 193 f.
- ↑ Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden (ed.), Compact Lexicon Marketingpraxis , 2013, p. 148
- ↑ financial, product-related, psychological, health-damaging or social risks associated with the purchase
- ↑ Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden (ed.), Compact Lexicon Marketingpraxis , 2013, p. 148
- ↑ Thomas Foscht / Bernhard Swoboda, Buyer Behavior : Basics - Perspectives - Applications , 2005, p. 158
- ↑ James F. Engel / Roger D. Blackwell / Paul W. Miniard, Consumer Behavior , 1993, p. 43 ff.
- ↑ Ludwig G. Poth / Marcus Pradel / Gudrun S. Poth, Gabler Kompakt-Lexikon Marketing , 2003, p. 217
- ↑ Christoph Schleer, Perceived Unheardness of Unethical Marketing Measures , 2011, p. 19
- ↑ Phillip Kotler / Gary Armstrong / Veronica Wong / John Saunders, Basics of Marketing , Volume 1, 2011, p. 295
- ↑ Ludwig G. Poth / Marcus Pradel / Gudrun S. Poth, Gabler Kompakt-Lexikon Marketing, 2003, p. 217
