Shopping Motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Shopping Motivation - Essay Example however behind all these characteristics, the motivation to buy is one of the key variables which contribute towards shaping the overall strategies for marketing. Thus, analyzing and understanding different shopping motivations allow managers to help them better their segmentation policies as well as the development of new and more penetrating retail marketing strategies. (Wagner,2007). The traditional research in this area however, remained focused on the interaction of consumers with the physical market places to make their buying decisions however, over the period of time, as the new forms of markets and marketing evolved, the scope has broadened and currently research in this area also focus on the different motivations of consumers while making purchase decisions in different market settings. This paper will attempt to study and anlyse different shopping motivations that exists when consumers make buying decisions. This paper however, also takes into consideration Means End Chain and its links to the Goal Directed Theory while presenting analyzing various shopping motivations. According to dictionary definition of Consumer, a consumer is one who consumes an economic good. A consumer is generally thought of as a person who identifies a need or desire accordingly makes a purchase. Thus, a consumer is a person who first identifies or feels the need for something and then after going through a mental process decides to whether buy or not buy certain goods or services. Thus a consumer is generally thought of as a person who identifies a need or desire accordingly makes a purchase. However, there are different factors which influence that mental process of deciding what to buy and what not to buy and a good marketer will always attempt to understand that mental process and then design strategies to influence that decision making process. Thus, no matter who are we in life (a child, a parent, a student, a worker, a business owner, a lover, etc.) we buy and consume things which makes us consumers. We buy different products (tangible and intangible) for many reasons (to eat, to wear, to watch, to play, to travel, to keep in good shape and to feel secure). Hence, the consumption activity is essential and primary part of our daily life and we as consumers attempt to consume according to our needs, wants and purchasing power. (David, 1997). However, there is a certain process, as defined above, which takes place in consumer's mind while evaluating a purchase. That process or behavior is often called consumer behavior. Consumer Behavior Consumer behavior can be easily be described as how consumers feel, think, create reasons to select between different alternatives like different brands of goods, or different products. Thus in its essence, consumer behavior is how the external and internal factors influence a consumer to make a buying decision. Consumer behavior, therefore, not only involve the interaction of the consumer with its environment but it also attempt to comprehend the influence of that environment on the decision making p