CHAPTER 6
Post-purchase Processes:
Consumption and Evaluation
Roger D. Blackwell, Paul W. Miniard, and James F. Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition
Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Behavior
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Behavior
Knowing how many and which
consumers fall into the user and
nonuser categories
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Behavior
Knowing how many and which
consumers fall into the user and
nonuser categories
Size of user market is one indicator
of market attractiveness
Size of nonuser group speaks to
future growth opportunities
Characterized along many
dimensions
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Entire Population
Users
Nonusers
When is it
consumed?
Where is it
consumed?
How is it
consumed?
How much is
consumed?
•Proximity
to purchase
•Time of day
•Situation A
•Situation B
•Usage 1
•Usage 2
•Heavy Users
•Moderate
Users
•Light Users
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Behavior
When does Consumption Occur?
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Behavior
When does Consumption Occur?
How much time passes between
purchase and consumption?
What time of day is product
used?
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Behavior
When does Consumption Occur?
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Behavior
When does Consumption Occur?
How much time passes between
purchase and consumption?
What time of day is product
used?
When in the year or during which
season is product consumed?
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Ferrero Rocher
advertises its
chocolates as
being perfect
for
consumption
at Easter. (The
gold packaging
has made it a
popular treat at
Christmas
time.)
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Behavior
Where does Consumption Occur?
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Behavior
How is the Product Consumed?
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Behavior
How is the Product Consumed?
How is the product prepared?
Is it consumed alone or with other
products?
Is it used as intended or have
consumers invented a new use?
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Hormel
addresses
consumption
issues of
how to
prepare ham
and what
side-dishes
are good
compliments
to this main
dish.
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Behavior
How Much Is Consumed?
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Behavior
How Much Is Consumed?
Consumers may be similar in what
they consume, but different in how
much they consume
Usage volume segmentation:
dividing consumers into segments
based on amount of consumption
(heavy, moderate, and light users)
Firms can encourage consumption
or change amount consumed
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Experiences
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Experiences
How Does It Feel?
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Experiences
How Does It Feel?
Positive or negative things you
feel when using a product
Consumers often don’t feel anything during experience
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Experiences
How Does It Feel?
Positive or negative things you
feel when using a product
Consumers often don’t feel anything during experience
Firms can position products
based on:
-Positive feelings resulting from
consumption
-Elimination of negative feelings
resulting from consumption
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Sara Lee
focuses on
the absence
of guilt that
is often
associated
with eating
this dessert
(too many
calories or
too much
fat).
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Experiences
How Rewarding or Punishing Was
the Experience?
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Experiences
How Rewarding or Punishing Was
the Experience?
Positive reinforcement: when
consumer receives positive
outcome from product usage
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Purchase
Need
Product
Purchase
Product
Consumption
Receiving
Positive
Outcomes
Positive Reinforcement
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Experiences
How Rewarding or Punishing Was
the Experience?
Positive reinforcement: when
consumer receives positive
outcome from product usage
Negative reinforcement: when
consumption helps person avoid
negative outcome
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Purchase
Need
Product
Purchase
Product
Consumption
Receiving
Positive
Outcomes
Positive Reinforcement
Purchase
Need
Product
Purchase
Product
Consumption
Avoiding
Negative
Outcomes
Negative Reinforcement
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Experiences
How Rewarding or Punishing Was
the Experience?
Positive reinforcement: when
consumer receives positive
outcome from product usage
Negative reinforcement: when
consumption helps person avoid
negative outcome
Punishment: when consumption
leads to negative outcome
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Purchase
Need
Product
Purchase
Product
Consumption
Receiving
Positive
Outcomes
Positive Reinforcement
Purchase
Need
Product
Purchase
Product
Consumption
Avoiding
Negative
Outcomes
Negative Reinforcement
Purchase
Need
Product
Purchase
Product
Consumption
Receiving
Negative
Outcomes
Punishment
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Experiences
Did It Confirm or Disconfirm
Expectations?
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Experiences
Did It Confirm or Disconfirm
Expectations?
Consumption can meet, exceed,
or fall short of expectations
If consumers expect something
to be easy and it isn’t, that
affects evaluation of product
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Consumption Norms and Rituals
Consumption norms: informal rules
that govern our consumption
behavior
Consumption rituals: a type of
expressive, symbolic activity constructed of multiple behaviors that
occur in a fixed, episodic
sequence, and that tend to be
repeated over time
Holiday rituals (gift giving, parties)
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Compulsive Consumption
Practices that are undertaken to
bolster self-esteem, but are
inappropriate, excessive, and
disruptive to the lives of those
involved
Gambling
Addiction (shopping, alcohol, food)
Internet (web dependency)
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Compulsive Consumption
Practices that are undertaken to
bolster self-esteem, but are
inappropriate, excessive, and
disruptive to the lives of those
involved
Some social service agencies are
often founded to deal with
compulsive consumption
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Post-consumption Evaluations
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Customer Satisfaction
It Influences Repeat Buying
Positive post-consumption
evaluations are essential for
retaining customers
Customer satisfaction does not
guarantee loyalty
The likelihood that customers
will remain loyal depends on
their level of satisfaction
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Customer Satisfaction
It Shapes Word-of-Mouth
Consumers often talk about their
consumption experiences
A firms ability to satisfy
customers will affect its success
in retaining current customers as
well as recruiting new ones
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Customer Satisfaction
It Shapes Word-of-Mouth
Consumers often talk about their
consumption experiences
A firms ability to satisfy
customers will affect its success
in retaining current customers as
well as recruiting new ones
Dissatisfaction Leads to Complaints
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Customer Satisfaction
Implications for Competitive Strategy
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Customer Satisfaction
Implications for Competitive Strategy
Monitor satisfaction levels of
competitors’ customers
Formulate strategies to attract
dissatisfied customers of
competitors
Advertise success of satisfying
customers to enhance reputation
and reinforce attitudes of current
customers
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
What Determines Satisfaction?
Expectancy disconfirmation model:
satisfaction depends on a
comparison of pre-purchase
expectations to actual outcomes
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
What Determines Satisfaction?
Expectancy disconfirmation model:
satisfaction depends on a
comparison of pre-purchase
expectations to actual outcomes
Negative disconfirmation: when
product delivers less than expected
Positive disconfirmation: when
product delivers more than expected
Confirmation: product matches
expectations
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Expectations and Satisfaction
Miracle-Gro
potting mix
influences
consumers’
expectations
about the
performance
of its
product in
this ad.
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Expectations and Satisfaction
Companies Influence Expectations
Advertising
Brand names (Mercedes)
Packaging (Godiva)
Price (High vs. Low)
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Expectations and Satisfaction
Companies Influence Expectations
Advertising
Brand names (Mercedes)
Packaging (Godiva)
Price (High vs. Low)
Expectations Can Influence Postconsumption Evaluations
In ambiguous situations, postconsumption evaluations are
susceptible to initial expectations
In unambiguous situations, they are
less influenced by expectations
Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, Consumer Behavior, Ninth Edition, Copyright© 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.