BUYERBEHAVIORASPROBLEMSOLVING 79
intotherightcontext.Ifthebuyercanretrieve relevantinformationaboutaprod-
uct, brand, orstore,he orshewillapplyit tosolvea problemormeet a need.Variations in howeach step is carriedoutintheinformation-processingsequencealso occur.
Especiallyinfluentialisthedegreeofelaboration.Elaborateprocessing,alsocalledcen-
tralprocessing,involvesactivemanipulationof information. Aperson engagedinelabo-
rate processingpayscloseattention to amessageandthinksabout it; heorshedevelops
thoughtsinsupportof orcounterto theinformationreceived.Incontrast,nonelaborate,or
peripherial,processinginvolvespassivemanipulationofinformation.^3 Itis demonstrated
bymostairline passengerswhilea flightattendantreadsprefli ghtsafetyprocedures. This
degreeofelaboration closelyparallelsthelow-involvement, high-involvementtheory,and
thesamelogicapplies.
IdentificationandEvaluationofAlternatives
Afterinformation is secured andprocessed, alternativepro ducts,services,andoutlets are
identifiedasviable options. Theconsumerevaluates thesealternatives,and,iffinancially
andpsychologicallyable, makesa choice. Thecriteriausedinevaluation variesfromcon-
sumer toconsumerjust astheneedsandinformationsourcesvary.Oneconsumer maycon-
siderprice mostimportant whileanotherputsmoreweightuponqualityor convenie nce.
Thesearchforalternativesandthemethodsusedinthesearch are influencedbysuch
factors as:(1)time and moneycosts;(2) howmuchinformation theconsumer already'las;
(3)the amountof the perceivedriskifa wrongselectionis made;and(4)theconsumer's
pt'~dispositiontowardparticular choicesasinfluencedbytheattitudeoftheindividualtoward
choice behavior. That is, t hereareindividuals whofindtheselectionprocesstobedifficult
anddis turbing.For thesepeople thereisa tendency tokeepthenumberofal ternatives to
a minimum, evenif theyhaven'tgonethroughan extensiveinformationsearch tofindthat
theiraltern ativesappeartobetheverybest.Ontheotherhand,thereareindividuals who
feelit necessary tocollecta longlistofalternatives. Thistendencycanappreciablyslow
downthedec isi on-makingfunction.
Produc~Servke/OuffetSelecnon
Theselection ofanalternativein manycaseswillrequireadditionalevaluation.For exam-
ple,a consumermay select a favoritebrandan d go toa convenientoutlettomakea pur-
chase.Upon arrival at thedealer,theconsumerfindsthatthedesi red brand is out-of-stock.
At thispoint,additionalevaluationisneededtodecidewhethertowaituntiltheproduct
comesin, accepta su bstitute,orgoto anotheroutlet.Theselection andevaluati onphases
ofconsumerproblemsolving arecloselyrelatedandoftenrunsequentially,withoutlet selec-
tioninfluencingproductevaluation, orproductselection influencingoutleteval uation.
ThePurchaseDecision
Aftermuch searchingandevaluating, orperhapsvery little,consu mers atsomepointhave.
todecidewhether theyaregoing tobuy.Anythingmarketers cando tosimplify purchas-
ingwillbeattractive tobuyers.Intheiradvertisingmarketerscouldsuggest the best size
fora particularuse, ortherightwinetodrinkwitha particular food. Sometimesseveral
decisionsituations canbecombinedandmarketedasonepackage.Forexample, travelagel1ts
oftenpackage traveltours.
To do a bettermarketingjobat thisstageofthebuyingprocess,a sellerneedstoknow
an swerstomanyquestions ab outconsumers'shoppingbehavior. For i nstance,howmuch
effort i stheconsumer willingtospendin shoppingfo r theproduct? Whatfactorsinfluence
whentheconsumerwillactuallypurchase? Arethereanyconditionsthatwouldprohibit
ordelay purchase?Providingbasic product,price, andlocationinformationthroughlabels,