Learning Objectives

• Know and understand what a consumer situation is, and be able

to discuss the types and dimensions of a situation. What can
marketers do about situational influences?

• Be able to compare and contrast the different types of

consumer decision-making (low-limited-high involvement).

• Understand problem recognition and its significance to

marketers.

• Know and understand the types and sources of information.

• Know and understand why consumers engage in information

search.
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“set of factors outside of, and removed from, the individual

consumer, as well as removed from the characteristics of
the stimulus object … to which the consumer is reacting”

“…temporary environmental factors that form the context

within which a consumer activity occurs at a particular place
and time.” (Mowen & Minor, 1998, p. 453)

Situation

Consumer Behaviour
Marketing
Stimuli Organism Response

Neal, Quester & Hawkins (2002), “Consumer Behaviour”, 3 Ed., Sydney, McGraw hill, p. 34

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 Communication situation
The situation in which consumers receive information

 Purchase situation
The situation in which purchase occurs

 Usage situation
The situation in which a product is being used

 Disposal situation
The situation in which products are disposed

 Ritual situation
 Structured, interrelated behaviours
 Socially defined occasions
 Symbolic meaning

 Physical surroundings
 Social surroundings
 Temporal (time) perspective
 Task definition
 Antecedent states

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The concrete and spatial aspects of the environment.

 Effects of music on shoppers

Variables Slow Music Fast

Music
Service time 29 min 27 min
Customer time at table 56 min 45 min
Customer groups leaving before seated 10.5% 12.0%
Amount of food purchased $55.81 $55.12
Amount of bar purchases $30.47 $21.62
Estimated gross margin $55.82 $48.62

Milliman (1986), “The Influence of Background Music on the Behavior of Restaurant Patrons”,
Journal of Consumer Research, September, p. 289

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 The concrete and spatial aspects of the environment.

 Effects of music on shoppers
 Effects of crowding on shoppers

Harrell, Hutt and Anderson (1980),

Increased physical “Path Analysis of Buyer Behavior under
Conditions of Crowding”, Journal of
density Market Research, February, pp. 45-51
Shopper
perceptions
Confined Crowded
closed-in feeling feeling

Adaptive
strategies
Alter use of Shorten planned Reduce shopping
in-store information purchases time

Postpurchase
responses
Store Unpleasant Reduced confidence
dissatisfaction experience in purchases
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The concrete and spatial aspects of the environment.

 Effects of music on shoppers
 Effects of crowding on shoppers
 Effects of store location
 Store layout
 Atmospherics

 The effects of other people in a consumption 
situation.

 Consider group influence.

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 Individual’s concept of time
 Time as a product benefit
 Time as a situational 
variable – the availability of 
time.  Can also relate to 
time of day, time of year 
(e.g. season), or an event.

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 The reason people buy and consume.
 Closely related to usage situation.
 E.g. gift giving

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 Temporary physiological and mood states.  
 Can include resources ‘state’ (e.g. money).
 Can lead to problem recognition.

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 Segmentation
 Advertising
 Positioning
 Product development
 Distribution

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 Munchies

Toilet paper

Lingerie
Train tickets

Luxury travel items
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Used away from home

II
Fruit flavoured
gum/sweets Mint-flavoured
gum/sweets

Sodas

Concerned with Concerned with

personal response from
response Fresh Dental others
fruit
aids
Mouthwashes
I

Toothpastes
Neal et al. (2002), p. 45
Home usage
I = “To clean my mouth upon rising in the morning”
II = “Before an important business meeting late in the afternoon” 16

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 What to buy

 When to buy

 Where to buy

 How to buy

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Mowen & Minor (1998), p. 349
Alternative evaluation
Postacquisition evaluation
Low Involvement
Habitual decision making
Problem Recognition
•Selective
Information search
•Limited internal
Purchase
Postpurchase
•No dissonance
•Very limited evaluation
Neal et al. (2002), p. 55
Problem recognition
Search
Choice
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High Involvement
Limited decision making Extended decision making
Problem Recognition Problem Recognition
•Generic •Generic
Information search Information search
•Internal •Internal
•Limited external •External
Alternative evaluation Alternative evaluation
•Few attributes •Many attributes
•Simple decision rules •Complex decision rules
•Few alternatives •Many alternatives
Purchase Purchase
Postpurchase Postpurchase
•No dissonance •Dissonance
•Limited evaluation •Complex evaluation
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 “is the result of discrepancy between a desired state and an actual
state that is sufficient to arouse and activate the decision process”

Neal et al (2002), p. 57
Desire to resolve problem depends on:
1. magnitude of discrepancy between desired and actual states

2. relative importance of the problem

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Neal, Quester & Hawkins (2002), “Consumer Behaviour”, 3 Ed., Sydney, McGraw hill, p. 59
22

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 Discrepancy not sufficiently large
 Outside realm of consumer 
activity
 Deny the discrepancy
 Lack of problem definition
 Constraints
 Caution
 Not sure how purchase will solve 
problem

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 Activating problem recognition
 influencing desired state
 influencing perceptions of actual state

 Removing delays in problem 
recognition

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 Yes!

Purchase

Problem Internal
recognition information
search
No Constraint -
no purchase

External
search
information

Consumer Behaviour  Lecture 10 25

 Alternative brands available

 Evaluative criteria to 
compare brands

 Importance of evaluative 
criteria

 How each alternative 
performs on each evaluative 
criterion

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The Evoked Set is “the specific brands a consumer considers in 
making a purchase choice in a particular product category”.

Consumer Behaviour  Lecture 10 27

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 Consumer Behaviour  Lecture 10 29

 Market characteristics
 number of alternatives
 price range
 store distribution
 information availability
 marketing communication
 other
 Product characteristics
 price level
 product differentiation
 positive products
 Consumer characteristics
 Learning/knowledge and experience
 social status
 demographic profile
 perceived risk
 shopping orientation
 Situational characteristics
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 Maintenance strategy: maintain habitually brand purchase by target
market

 Disrupt strategy: disrupt decision process where brand is not part of

the evoked set and target market habitually purchases.

 Capture strategy: limited decision making at point-of-purchase based on

few criteria. Capture based on criteria.

 Intercept strategy: limited decision making and brand not part of evoked
set. Intercept the consumer during search.

 Preference strategy: extensive decision making with brand in evoked set

 Acceptance strategy: extensive decision making with brand not in

evoked set.

Consumer Behaviour  Lecture 10 31

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