Understanding Consumer Behavior in the Era of ECommerce

When a customer shows an interest in purchasing certain products, most of them follow a process for decision making. This process includes: problem recognition, search for information, evaluation of the expected outcome, the purchase, and the post purchase behavior.

Consumer behavior in the purchase decision market has also been significant influence by the emergence of e-commerce. For the sellers, observing this consumer behavior can significantly help in the further improvement of the products and services being offered.

The first step in the consumer behavior when it comes to making purchase is the recognition of a problem. This phase occurs when consumers are faced with unsatisfied need. It can be triggered either by internal stimuli such as thirst or hunger and external stimuli such as advertisements.

Consumers recognize unfulfilled wants on different ways. To illustrate, it can be recognized as when old products are no longer performing well than it used to or new product was introduced that can enhance their experience. The core of every marketer’s goal us to let consumers realize of the possible needs that are unsatisfied, and how the services and products that they offer can have these needs fulfilled.

It is also a common consumer behavior nowadays to look for information about the product they intend to purchase. This search for information can include getting exposed to numerous sources like displays of products and promotional materials. This can be done by doing an active research about the product or by just relying on the historic information on his mind.

The latter might include pre conceived ideas about the service or products or experienced of previous customers whether good or bad. Not every buying decision will rely heavily on accumulating information. The extent at which customer conducts his search for information will largely depend on the purchased perceived risk.

An example, purchasing toothpaste does not involved very high risk and consumer will only search for information which will not exceed his previous experience. However, purchasing a car involves high risk and they tend to do extensive research about it.

The next stage, in consumer behavior when buying, is his evaluation of expected outcome. At this stage, he is ready to make a decision which is based on the gathered information and those that he discarded. He was able to develop his own criteria on which he will be basing his decision.

This is also the phase wherein he was able to narrow his choices to some few products. In this stage, the goal of every marketer is to make a determination of what are the attributes and features of the product which will convince consumers to purchase it.

Recent researches have shown that features which greatly affect this stage include perceived trustworthiness, comfort, excellence and status. This is also considered as a critical stage as consumer tends not to make a decision that is rational by weighing the alternatives. Those consumers that are more emotional can even reach an uncritical blindness wherein they will be obsessed in purchasing the product.

Another step, in consumer behavior, is the purchase of the product. This means that he has finally made up the decision on which product to buy or if he will not buy any of it at all. If he opts to purchase, the final step is to evaluate the products after its use.

In the last few years, e-commerce has significantly influenced consumer behavior and it has become the most preferable media for business. Electronic commerce is defined as a process of selling and purchasing products and service using the internet.

This media was able to establish its significant role in influencing the supply-chain relationship when it comes to product accessibility, marketing, promotional campaigns and presenting portfolio of businesses. This has been referred as the next revolution in business.

On the side of the consumers, e commerce has helped them in regulating impulsive spending and buying. The internet increased the product accessibility making a more expanded market values.

Customers are allowed to explore on wide varieties of products and services. This makes information gathering as well as evaluation easy, quick and convenient. E commerce was also able to match those utilities and equipment that is offered on traditional method.

This can be exemplified by credit and delivery facilities, choice of modes of payment as well as more personalized customer assistance. Since the suppliers need not maintain visible inventories, they have increased their services when it comes to efficiency and quality. This has led to more reduced post purchase behavior of dissatisfaction and regret.

Electronic commerce has indeed established itself to be the leading fashion towards the process of influencing the consumer behavior.

This holds the essence of the consumer behavior which is necessary in defining the suture strategies of businesses. This offers successful dynamic in the product market which leads to competitive success in the stabilization of markets.