- Consumers rarely weigh up all the costs and benefits of choices. Instead, purchasing decisions may be made automatically, habitually, or be heavily influenced by an individual’s emotions or the behaviour of others. This also means that consumers tend not to use all of the information available to them when shopping. Instead, people are more likely to read information when they perceive a benefit from doing so.
- Consumers use mental short-cuts to help speed up decision-making. These short-cuts can distort consumers’ decisions. Short-cuts can include relying on labels or brand names that are recognised, and being influenced by the way in which information is presented and the context in which a decision is made.
- Consumers respond more to losses than gains. This means people are more reluctant to give something up or suffer loss than they are motivated by benefits of equal value. This aversion to loss has a significant impact on the way in which people interpret information and can lead to consumers avoiding making choices altogether.
- Consumers value products much more once they own them. In addition, the value placed on a product is inconsistent. It can vary over time, and can be affected by the previous cost of the product and the emotional attachment someone places on a product. This makes people reluctant to trade in old products, even when it would be cost-effective to replace them.
- Consumers place a greater value on the immediate future and heavily discount future savings. This impacts on the way in which consumers value the efficiency and lifetime costs of appliances.
- Too much choice can be overwhelming to consumers, making decision-making difficult. As choice increases, consumers may consider fewer choices, process less overall information and evaluate information differently. When choice is particularly excessive, consumers may actually avoid making a choice altogether.
- Consumers are heavily influenced by other people. This might take the form of an indirect influence, for example from seeing neighbours or friends buying a product, or a more direct, explicit influence, for example when a salesperson persuades someone to buy a certain product. Nearly all consumption choices are subject to some kind of social influence.
McGeevor, K., 2009. Real world consumer behaviour relating to the purchase of environmentally preferable goods, European Commission. Available at: http://www.psi.org.uk/research/project.asp?project_id=193 [Accessed February 12, 2011].
