Situational Influences on Consumer Buying

I believe that when a consumer is buying a product, that one of the most important ones at play are the situational influences. These factors can influence a buyer's purchasing decision and may cause the buyer to shorten, lengthen, or terminate the process.

The first influence is physical surroundings. These come into play a lot at stores when people see signs displaying "SALE" or "50% OFF." I believe that even if the prices of these products are already jacked up, the consumer will believe that they are getting a good deal and are more likely to buy that product. Another influence is the customer's social surroundings. The people that are around a consumer when they are looking to buy a product can play a big role. For example, if you were at a restaurant and almost always ordered a huge cheeseburger, fries, and a dessert, you may want to reconsider ordering all that food if you were on a first date. Ordering all that food and wolfing it down may not be attractive to the date, and as a result may lengthen the amount of time the consumer spends on making their purchase.

Time perspective plays a significant role in a consumer's decision making process. If a person is in a rush at the supermarket, they may not pay much attention to price or brand, but rather will just grab whatever product is closest to them and that they can grab the quickest, which shortens the amount of time spent on the purchase. Another influence is the reason for the purchase, which is also a significant factor at a supermarket. Many times a customer will pick up something at the register as an impulse buy and will not think about what they are purchasing, they only pick it up because it looks appealing at the moment. This severely shortens the amount of time a customer spends on buying a product, while a larger more expensive product is more likely to be researched and not bought as an impulse.

These factors can play a large role in a consumer's decision about a purchase. Do you believe that any one factor plays a larger role than another? Do these factors have influence in your life?

In response to Laura's post...

In Laura's post about online privacy, she posed the questions: "Should we be more careful when it comes to sharing information online? Or do you think that this information will inevitably be found when scouring the web? And do you share/post a lot of your own personal information online? Why or why not? "

I believe that in today's world of phishing, scamming, hacking, and all other forms of identity theft, everybody should be more careful about sharing their information online. Since hackers and other scammers are becoming more and more prevalent, this means that when posting information online, one should be more selective about what information is made available. Many social networking websites, such as FaceBook and Myspace allow users to create a profile and post information, pictures, etc. about themselves which can be shown or chosen to be hidden. The problem with this is, many times a user does not know their privacy and account settings.

Until recently, I was unaware how much of the information on my profile was able to be seen by outsiders, and others I didn't know. This shocked me, when I read about Facebook's new security settings, and as a result I have changed my account settings. I think that this information may be able to be found regardless, as often times some websites require certain information. I have an eBay account, which requires my birthday and other information, which may be able to be stolen by a hacker or scammer. I believe that as soon as you enter information online, it can always be found. Regardless of how careful you are, how many security settings are in place, etc., once you put your information online, it stays there forever. This is why I try not to put a lot of my personal information online, to try and protect my privacy. Do you agree that once you put your information online it stays there forever? Do you take similar steps (if any) to protect your privacy?