33 Phenomena of Purchasing Decisions: Understanding Customer Behavior - Knowledge and Inspiration

This book will help you better understand the purchase decisions of your customers: How do customers decide? Are we confused by too much choice? Are we deceived by a decoy on the shelf? How well can we compare prices? How do hunger and caffeine influence our purchasing behavior?

As a marketing and sales professional, you regularly deal with purchase decisions made by your customers regarding your product offerings. Marketing decisions are sometimes made under great uncertainty and with little reliable knowledge – but with a lot of "gut feeling".

In 33 short chapters, Sebastian Oetzel and Andreas Luppold, experts in shopper marketing and shopper research, present relevant factors and phenomena that influence purchasing decisions. The authors illuminate various aspects of purchase decision-making and discuss and sometimes refute common hypotheses from the perspectives of classical economics, behavioral economics, and psychology.

A book for anyone professionally or academically involved in purchase decisions – and for anyone who wants to better understand and question their own purchase decision-making processes.

With a foreword by Dr. Alexander Lauer (Aldi Nord) and Prof. Dr. Bernd Skiera (Goethe University Frankfurt).

Excerpt from exciting questions for which you will find insights and actionable answers:

• Why we should use positive frames. And why the higher number brings more.
• Why "€ 0.-" is better than "Free". And why the chance to get it for free works better than a guaranteed discount.
• Why individuality can lead to more dissatisfaction. And why men shouldn't shop together.
• Why price guarantees can lead to higher prices for buyers. And why they simultaneously improve the retailer's price image.
• Why we are unconsciously influenced by stimuli before making a purchase decision. And why some stimuli tempt us to do exactly the opposite.

... and 28 more phenomena.

Dr. Sebastian Oetzel has been a Professor of General Business Administration, particularly Marketing, at the Department of Business at Fulda University of Applied Sciences since 2018. After studying and completing his doctorate at Goethe University Frankfurt, he worked as a consultant at Yagora GmbH, where he supervised experiments and data analytics projects in the  retail and consumer goods industry. He has extensive experience in conducting and analyzing both scientific and practice-oriented studies. His research interests include Marketing Analytics and Behavioral Economics, with a focus on applying quantitative methods to optimize marketing decisions, particularly in the areas of pricing and promotions. His research uses experiments and data analysis to empirically test behavioral economic theories.

Andreas Luppold, Dipl. Kaufmann, is the Managing Partner of the consulting firm Innobrands GmbH. He is also Leading Consultant & Company Advisor at Yagora GmbH, a market research and consulting firm specializing in purchase decision behavior. After studying at Goethe University Frankfurt, his professional experience includes positions at Tchibo Frisch-Röst-Kaffee GmbH, JWT advertising agency, and the publishing group Deutscher Fachverlag. Andreas Luppold has also been a lecturer in marketing at FOM University Frankfurt. Yagora conducts test market research projects in grocery stores, in addition to surveys using implicit methods. Andreas Luppold has experience in conducting several hundred studies for consumer goods manufacturers and retailers.