Understanding Consumer Decision-Making and the Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior (Term Paper Sample)

Task 1. Consumer attitudes.
A substantial portion of produce harvested around the world is wasted because it does not meet consumers’ shape expectations. For example, cucumbers may not be perfectly straight, strawberries and peaches may have abnormal growth, etc. Task 2. Understanding consumer decision making. A large portion of such misshapen or “ugly” produce ends up in land waste because consumers mistakenly perceive it to be of lower quality – less tasty, less healthy, or less aesthetically pleasing – even though the shape of the product does not really affect its nutritional or taste characteristics. Assume that a non-for-profit organisation has hired you to design a promotional campaign aimed at addressing food waste due to the “ugly produce” myth. The campaign aims to encourage consumers to purchase and consume more of the misshapen produce. Completing this task will require you to draw on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TORA) to develop a marketing campaign aimed at changing the current negative attitude towards misshapen produce and the associated behaviour.
1a. Using the TORA model, construct a diagram that illustrates the attitudes and social norms which lead consumers to avoid misshapen produce. Make sure you outline clearly all elements of the TORA model, as applied to this situation. You can use boxes and arrows (click the “insert” tab in word, and then select “shapes”). Be specific. For example, don’t just say “beliefs,” but specify what these beliefs are in the context of misshapen produce. (10%)

1b. Identify ONE component of attitudes (according to TORA) that you would like to change with your campaign, which will also help change consumers’ purchase behaviour. Explain how you would go about changing this attitude component. Use examples to illustrate your answer. (10%)
1c. Identify ONE component of subjective norms (according to TORA) that you would like to change, which will also help change consumers’ purchase behaviour. Explain how you would go about changing this norms component. Use examples to illustrate your answer. (10%)
2a. Imagine the following scenario: You need to buy a washing machine and you go to the local home appliances store. There are several brands of washing machines available. Provide one example of how you may use the availability heuristic to decide which brand of the washing machine to purchase. (10% marks)
2b. One of the washing machine brands, Devanti, consistently emphasises the high energy efficiency of its products. It urges consumers to not accept any brands that have lower than 5- star energy rating. Explain what kind of decision strategy Devanti is prompting consumers to use in this case – compensatory or non-compensatory? If you choose non-compensatory, then identify the specific choice model. Justify your answer. (10 marks)
2c. Imagine that you purchase one of the washing machines in the store. A few days later you go into the same store to buy something else and you see that the washing machine that you purchased is now being sold for $400 less. Use Equity Theory to explain why you may feel that you have been treated unfairly. Use to the input-to-output ratio concept, as per Equity Theory, to explain your perception of unfairness (see Week 10 lesson). Namely, explain what the elements in the input and output ratio are, in this case, and how they contribute to your sense of inequity. (15 marks)
Task 3. Understanding consumer culture: Using psychographics to segment the market ABC is a company that makes watches. The company has traditionally segmented the market by gender (men’s and women’s watches) and price range (low, medium, premium). However, research suggests that the company may benefit by segmenting the market for watches based on consumer psychographics such as values and lifestyle. Your task is to identify four distinct segments in the watch market – two segments based on consumer values and two segments based on consumer lifestyle – and describe the type of watches that the ABC company would sell to each of these segments. Specifically:
3a. Identify two (2) consumer values relevant to the watch market. Then, describe two distinct market segments (one for each of the consumer values you have selected) that the watch company could target. Describe some of the key product attributes that customers in each of these two market segments are likely to seek. (15%)
3b. Identify two (2) consumer lifestyles relevant to the watch market. Then describe two distinct market segments (one for each of the lifestyles) that the watch company could target. Describe some of the key product attributes that customers in each of these two market segments are likely to seek. (15%)