1. Chapter 10 Buying and Disposing
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR, 8e Michael Solomon

2. Issues Related to Purchase and Postpurchase Activities
A consumer’s choices are affected by many personal factors…and the sale doesn’t end at the time of purchase

3. Situational Effects on Consumer Behavior (cont.)
Mood Effects: The way we feel at a particular time affects what we buy or do
Day Reconstruction Method
How do morning vs. afternoon vs. evening vs. late-night purchases differ?
Weekend vs. weekday purchases
Situational self-image (“Who am I right now?”)

4. 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
Examples: Jam-packed bars and stadiums
Interpretation of arousal: density versus crowding
Type of consumer patrons
social class
similarity to me

5. Temporal Factors (Time)
What exactly is TIME?
Time styles: consumers try to maximize satisfaction by dividing time among tasks
Time poverty
One-third of Americans feel rushed
Marketing innovations allow us to save time
Polychronic activity – “multitasking”

6. Temporal Factors (cont.)
Psychological time: consumers’ perception of time
Often much different than reality
Time categories relevant to marketers
Good times for ads / sales messages: occasion/leisure times, time to kill, distraction needs
Bad times for ads / sales messages : flow, engrossment and deadline times
Time perspective metaphors
Time is a pressure cooker
Time is a map
Time is a mirror
Time is a river
Time is a feast

7. Temporal Factors (cont.)
Time styles / attitudes come from culture
Linear separable time – “there’s a time and place for everything”, follow the clock (Americans)
Procedural time – “when the time is right”, ignore the clock (French)
Circular/cyclic time – present-oriented, actions governed by the seasons (Hispanics), little sense of future
Queuing theory: mathematical study of waiting lines
Waiting for product = perception of good quality
Too much waiting = negative feelings
Marketers use “tricks” / distractions to minimize psychological waiting time

8. The Shopping Environment
Antecedent states: mood/physiological condition influences what we buy, how much we spend and how we evaluate products and services
Mood = combination of “affective valence” and arousal
The difference between “mood” and “emotion”
Happiness = high in pleasantness and moderate in arousal
Elation = high pleasantness, high arousal
Mood biases judgments of products/services
Moods are affected by store design, music, interaction with staff, TV programs, ad humor, etc.

9. Reasons for Shopping Reasons for shopping:
Utilitarian vs. Experiential
Experiential / Hedonic reasons include:
Social experiences
Sharing of common interests
Interpersonal attraction
Instant status
The thrill of the hunt

10. Retailing as Theater
Competition for customers is becoming intense as nonstore alternatives multiply
Malls gain loyalty by appealing to social motives (much less about ‘buying product’)
Retail techniques:
Landscape themes
Marketscape themes
Cyberspace themes
“Home away from home”

11. FedEx Makeover
BEFORE
AFTER

12. Is store image easy to copy?
Store image: personality of the store
Atmosphere
Location
Merchandise mix and layout
Congeniality / politeness / helpfulness of sales staff
Is store image easy to copy?

13. E-Commerce: Clicks versus Bricks
E-commerce reaches customers around the world, but competition increases exponentially
Benefits: good customer service, technology value
Limitations: security/identity theft, actual shopping experience, large delivery/return shipping charges
Can marketers instill “good mood online?”
Is “store image” still relevant online?

14. Atmospherics & Consumer Involvement
Atmospherics: conscious designing of space and dimensions to evoke certain effects
Colors/lighting, scents, and sounds/music affect time spent in store and spending
Getting Consumers Involved in a Product Creation Experience
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Club Libby Lu
Viking Home Chef and Viking Culinary Academy
Universal Studios

15. In-Store Decision Making
Spontaneous shopping consists of:
Unplanned buying: reminded to buy something
Impulse buying: sudden, irresistible urge to buy
Point-of-purchase (POP) stimuli: product display or demonstration that draws attention
Music store CD sampler, “endcap” displays
Salespeople Effects
Commercial friendships
Are “commercial friendships” a good idea?
Good salespeople vs. bad salespeople

16. Quality Is What We Expect It to Be
Expectancy disconfirmation
consumers form expectations of product quality based on prior performance and experience
Disconfirmation is when expectations aren’t met
Marketers must “manage expectations”
Don’t promise what you can’t deliver
Consider under-promising a little
When product fails, marketers must reassure customers with honesty

17. Customer Expectation Zones

18. Acting on Dissatisfaction
Three ways consumers can act on dissatisfaction:
Voice response: appeal to retailer directly (encourage this!)
Private response: express dissatisfaction to friends or boycott store
Third-party response: take legal action
Or… Do nothing.

19. TQM: Going to the Gemba
Observe first-hand 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

20. Going to the Gemba

21. Product Disposal Strong product attachment = painful disposal process
Ease of product disposal is now a key product attribute to consumers
Disposal fees for tvs, computers, etc.
Some consumers buy new products before disposing of old products
The “move-then-throw-away” phenomenon
Disposal options (see next slide)

22. Consumers’ Disposal Options

23. Lateral Cycling: Junk versus “Junque”
Lateral cycling: already purchased products are sold to others or exchanged for still other things
EBay, Flea markets, garage sales, classified ads, bartering for services, hand-me-downs, etc.
Divestment rituals:
Iconic transfer: taking photos of objects before selling them
Transition-place: putting items in an out-of-the-way location before disposing of them
Ritual cleansing: washing, ironing, and/or meticulously wrapping the item