MKG131 Week 6 Assignment – Consumer Buying Behavior

Grantham University

MKG131 Week 6

Consumer Buying Behavior

Comparison shopping on mobile platforms is mostly affected by the evaluation of alternatives stage. According to Rani (2014), the stage involving the evaluation of the available alternatives assists the consumer in making the best decision based on price, availability, and convenience. The consumer seeks information on the different retailers providing the product and determines the one that has the most attractive offer. Similarly, comparison shopping on the mobile platform involves selecting the online retailer that provides a particular product at the most affordable rate. eBay intends on appealing to consumers by providing the RedLaser app, which enables consumers to make comparison shopping by comparing in-store prices with those provided by other retailers. When the prices provided by eBay are lower, customers are more likely to purchase its products as opposed to competitors’ products.

Being able to shop virtually has made it more convenient for many shoppers. People may not have the time to visit brick-and –mortar stores, and as a result, virtual shopping is more preferable for customers who cannot access the stores due to geographical limitations. Another great benefit of shopping virtual is that it allows consumers to peruse through a greater variety of commodities. According to Dad, Rehman, Kear, and Davies (2018), virtual reality shopping contains thousands of products that can be viewed in an instant. In contrast, a customer may not be able to physically go through all the items available in a brisk and mortar store. For this reason, virtual reality increases the scope of products that can be viewed by consumers. Thirdly, virtual reality results in more informative purchases as customers can virtually try on new items and see how they fit with their body types and preferences. As explained by the article, users can take photos of themselves using the eBay app and virtually “try on” the fashion items. Therefore, customers are able to make more informative choices as a result of virtual reality.

I find myself shopping online as opposed to visiting stores. First, online shopping can be done at any time and place, and one need not be constrained by time limitations as in the case with physical stores that have restrictive closing hours (Lin & Lu, 2015). Secondly, online shopping allows the making of price comparisons between different online retailers. Most online retailers provide standardized products, making it easy to make price comparisons and select the most affordable products. Nonetheless, shopping in physical stores has its advantages, such as the ability to physically try on clothing items. Online clothing sizes are not always accurate as they could be bigger or smaller, and one has to face the inconvenience of returning them.

Black Friday deals involve going to physically stores and getting huge price discounts on various items. Cyber Monday is similar, although it involves getting price discounts on online shopping platforms (Fulgoni & Lipsman, 2016). The advantage of Black Friday is that it has bigger price discounts, but its main disadvantage is that some discounts are only offered on items provided in brick and mortar stores. however, Cyber Monday is more convenient as shopping is done on an online platform, but the price discounts are not as appealing as those provided by Black Friday. Therefore, a cost-benefit analysis between price and convenience has to be conducted to determine the better deal. Convenience is more important as people may not have the time to physically go to stores. therefore, Cyber Monday is more preferable.

References

Dad, A. M., Rehman, A. A., Kear, A., & Davies, B. J. (2018). The Effect of Music on Shoppers’ Shopping Behaviour in Virtual Reality Retail Stores: Mediation Analysis. International journal of advanced computer science and applications, 9(1), 135-145.

Fulgoni, G. M., & Lipsman, A. (2016). The Future of Retail Is Mobile: How Mobile Marketing Dynamics Are Shaping the Future of Retail. Journal of Advertising Research, 56(4), 346-351.

Lin, K. Y., & Lu, H. P. (2015). Predicting mobile social network acceptance based on mobile value and social influence. Internet Research, 25(1), 107-130.

Rani, P. (2014). Factors influencing consumer behaviour. International journal of current research and academic review, 2(9), 52-61.