Blog Entry #4: Me, myself, & others

 I usually engage in a limited problem solving consumer decision-making when buying products. I do not usually spend a ton of time doing extensive research about products and services, as well as creating detailed criteria to choose from options. 

When deciding to buy products, I first look for which stores I can purchase the product or products similar to it. I want to see the availability of it and how easy or hard it is to find and acquire one. It is also a way for me to see if this item is something I can purchase readily or without difficulty. Next, I research the product/service I would like to purchase. I usually just make an external and internal search towards what I buy because I trust the purchasing history of my peers and those around me. I rarely rely on accidental search to influence me to buy a product, and when needed, I make a deliberate search. After making searches, I then look at the pros and cons of the alternatives and evaluate from there. I make non-compensatory decision rules that are most often conjunctive or lexicographic as I want to be able to get the best option out of all my choices. Lastly, when I make a purchase, I make sure that what I buy would be something I would use in the long run. I am not a fan of using products that wouldn’t last a long time.

The factors that most affect or influence how much I research are product factors and situational factors. As a student, I have limited funds to spend when purchasing something. Therefore, I need to be deliberate about it and really consider a lot of factors when deciding. The perceived risks of the product is very important to me because I want to make sure that I get my money’s worth when buying a product. I also like purchasing with the idea that I would be able to use the product in the long run. So I take the risks seriously. But as someone that also does not have a lot of time or money to spend in buying, I also check for other available options or alternatives to the product that can offer the same or something similar but is more accessible.

I do not have an evoked set of brands as I do not really have the money to keep purchasing the same brands when buying a product. Most of the brands that I find acceptable and are what I look for in a product are relatively expensive and I do not have the luxury to repeat buying from them.

Usually, when I like a product, I keep it in mind and try to purchase the same again on the following buy. However, I am often always surprised by the emergence of new or other products that show promising similar experiences to those that I have bought previously, and sometimes are even better.  So I do not often stick to what I usually buy because with how the market is like today, it is impossible not to find brands that would surprise you with what they can offer.