When a consumer has made the decision to purchase a particular product, an evaluation process is initiated of the appropriate brand alternatives. This process can be very quick for low involvement products such as toothpaste or can become a very methodical labor intensive evaluation for high involvement products such as the purchase of a new car. This evaluation of decision alternatives is broadly initiated with the overall awareness set of all possible known brands. From the awareness set, the known product brands are narrowed and placed into one of three remaining categories (inert, inept and evoked) based on contributing factors that the consumer finds important in meeting their evaluative needs (Hawkings & Mothersbaugh, 2013).
Factors that Contribute to Purchase Decisions When the consumer is in the process of making a purchase decision, there are various factors that determine whether a brand in the overall awareness set is given further consideration and delineated to the evoked set or only considered as a back-up alternative (inert set) or not considered at all (inept set). Factors that affect the purchase decision …show more content…
Individual consumer evaluative criteria such as level of product involvement, social status and perceived risk could be the determining factors. Situational factors surrounding the product and the purchase experience also play a role, such as, whether the product was available when ready to purchase or if the retail surroundings were pleasant and inviting. Factors that affect the purchase decision encompass a 360-degree spectrum of contributing characteristics that are heavily influenced by the market, the product itself, the individual consumer and the purchase situation (Hawkings & Mothersbaugh,