Consumer & Browser Behavior

Human Information Behavior

17:610:510:03

October 14, 2009

Brigid Abraham

Julianne Kurtz

Mary Grace Whealan

Who is today’s consumer?

http://likeiknowit.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/micro-interactions/

Who is Concerned with Who is Concerned with Consumer Behavior?Consumer Behavior?

• Retailers• Marketers• Psychologists• Consumers

• Process: Information transmitted from producers to consumers; information transfer, then knowledge and evaluation of user leads to product choice

http://www.industrialsearchenginemarketing.com/blog/2007/12/31/consumer-behavior-overview-101-aligning-online-with-offline-marketing-campaigns/

What Influences Consumer Behavior?

• http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~market/courses/380/consbehv.html

What consumer behaviors is Mr. Bean exhibiting?

• Behavior Behavior impacted by impacted by shopping shopping environmentenvironment– In this case,

negatively

Youth ConsumersYouth Consumers• Groups of youth• Technology as influencing

youth consumer behavior• Changes in youth spending

– Significant growth inmoney expendedby minors

Experian Simmons survey

•What youth and teens are buying•How much they are spending

Gen. Y (born 1977-1994, numbering 76 million) have tremendous spending power – about $600 billion per year, not including influence on parents.

What consumer behaviors is Mr. Bean exhibiting?

• Impacting Peers, Impacting Peers, Colleagues, Colleagues, Family…even Family…even strangersstrangers– In this case, a

fellow shopper

Adolescent Adolescent Consumer BehaviorConsumer Behavior

• Piaget’s theory of intellectual development (1960) assumes that all socialization occurs by age of 15

• Consumer tendencies for life built around late adolescent/early adulthood

• Churchill and Moschis’ 1979 study evaluated the interactions of:

1. Age2. Socioeconomic status (* found not to be

a factor)3. Birth Order4. Sex5. Amount of TV/media6. Family Communication about

Consumption7. Peer Communication about

Consumption8. Materialism9. Social Motivations for Consumption10. Economic Motivations for

ConsumptionChurchill and Moschis, 1979

Purchasing Motivations of Generation Y Consumers

(Noble, Haytko, and Phillips. 2009)

• Changing attitudes and influences as cognition develops

• Brand loyalty – lifelong; starts here

Socialization TheorySocialization Theory – Processes by which young

people acquire skills, knowledge, and attitudes relevant to their

functioning as consumers in the marketplace.

Youth and Teen InfluencesYouth and Teen Influences• Influenced by parents

…but also influence parents• Youth/teen opinions differ from

parents’• Teens as targets of advertisers

• Strategically placed store items

Adults• Responsibilities:

– Taking care of children– Taking care of parents– Demanding careers– Social lives– Balancing a family

budget

Adults Prefer Online Shopping

• No “grocery store” arguments

• Increased comfort level• Convenience• Less stressful

environmentWhen asked how much time an ADULT aged 35-54 would spend on a plane ticket to see a loved one or to go on a vacation, the adult gave the same terse response: “Southwest Airlines, Travelocity. Less than an hour.”

Challenges of Adults• Struggle to fight

own impulses and appease children's impulses

• Less available time than other age groups

• Raising children in a technological world

Mature Consumers

• By 2020, there will be 1,000,000,000 people over the age of 60 living worldwide

• The 85+ age bracket is the fastest growing segment of the worldwide population

• Seniors have 70% of the USA’s purchasing power

• Highest percentage of discretionary income of any 10-year age bracket

• Seniors 65+ had $200 billion in purchasing power yearly (est. in 2000)

Important Factors to Mature Consumers

• Nostalgia

• Brand/Store Loyalty

• Convenience

• Simplicity

• Risk reduction

• FunctionalityReisenwitz, T., Iyer, R., Kuhlmeier, D, & Eastman, J.. (2007). The elderly’s

internet usage: an updated look. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 24(7), 406-418.

Brand Loyalty and Trust

• Perceived service quality

• Overall purchasing experience

• Associate positive conventional shopping experience with positive online service 

Consumer Choice

Consumer

Browse Pre-purchase Search Impulse Buying

All have been impacted by the Internet

What consumer behaviors is Mr. Bean exhibiting?

• Impulse Buying Impulse Buying BehaviorBehavior– Browsing with the

intent to buy, but nothing specific in mind

Video care of YouTube.com

Impulse Buying

Immediacy of purchase

Accompanied by emotions

Proximity to stimulus

How has technology shaped our consumer behaviors?

• Constant need for timely information (i.e. flights)

• Auction sites such as ebay make selling collectible items easier  

• More inclined to research the value and prices of a purchase    

• Must consider risks when making purchases

E-Commerce

• According to the U.S. Census Department of Commerce, in the first

quarter of 2009, $32.4 billion was spent in e-commerce

• E-commerce has grown from less than a percent of total quarterly retail sales 10 years ago to 3.6% of total quarterly retail sales

U.S. Dept. Of Commerce. (2009). [Graph representing quarterly progression of e-commerce percentage sales]. Quarterly Retail E-commerce Sales. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/retail/mrts/www/data/pdf/09Q2.pdf

$$ What We Buy $$

• What are people buying?

• Why are they buying online?

• Why aren’t they?

Decision Aids • Recommendation

Agent– Amazon.com– Netflix.com

• Comparison Matrix– Bestbuy.com

Recommendation AgentsRecommendation Agents

• 3 parameters

• attribute importance weight

•minimum acceptable attribute levels

• quota cut-off to limit number of products to be included

Netflix.com

Bestbuy.com

Comparison MatrixComparison Matrix

• in-depth comparisons of selected alternatives

• matrix clearly outlines information about a select number

of products.

Methodology

Framework of Online Consumer Behavior

What consumer behaviors is Mr. Bean exhibiting?

• Impulse Buying Impulse Buying BehaviorBehavior– Browsing with the

intent to buy, but nothing specific in mind

– Physical product trial

Is there ANYTHING You Can’t Buy Online?

• Peapod/ Fresh Direct: People like the ritual of picking out food

• Cars: usually involves a payment plan and test drive

• Use sites as informational: not to buy directly

Risk Reducing Methods:Word of Mouth RecommendationProduct WarrantiesEndorsementsAdvertisementsSamplesReturn PoliciesFree SamplesMoney-Back GuaranteesTrial SizesPrice Reductions

LEVELS of RISK

• High

– Car

• Medium

– Laptop Computer

• Low

– Clothing or supermarket items

RISK

Time for Consumer Time for Consumer Search and DecisionSearch and Decision

• Factors considered– Brand Information– Experience with Vendor– Convenience

• When time is short, factors change level of importance

“Time is money.”Time for search determines

search type, depth, and sources consulted

“If I had more time, I would probably use more sources—a more extensive internet search, calling up people who might know about [SUBJECT X], etc.” – Survey Participant

Hauser, Urban, and Weinberg, 1993

What consumer behaviors is Mr. Bean exhibiting?

Browsing Browsing

/ Window/ Window

ShoppingShopping

Video care of YouTube.com

Why Browse?

• What is browsing?

• How is it different from shopping?– Impulse buying blurs this line

• How do we browse?

Research conducted by Bloch, Sherrell, and Ridgway (1986, 1989)

Why Browse?

• Browsing versus searching– Determinants– Motives– Outcomes

• Recreation• Banking

knowledge for later shopping use

Research conducted by Bloch, Sherrell, and Ridgway (1986, 1989)

What makes some stores so successful?

• Consistency of usability design• Responsive to customer needs    • Timeliness of information

What does all of this mean for What does all of this mean for libraries and librarians?libraries and librarians?

Survey FindingsSurvey Findings

- 100% of respondents chose the internet in their top 3- 92% had friends/family in the top 3- 49% had car dealerships in top 3- 33% had library in top 3;

46%, however, would consult a library 4th, and 8% would not consult a library at all- just 23% indicated they would consider speaking to librarian about finding car information