15A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior Part 2

My target segment, like the previous assignment, is Millenials and Generation Z. In my previous post, I interviewed people about the beginning stages of their buyer behavior: now I will be interviewing classmates on the latter part of this process-alternatives. My set of alternatives are as follows: cost, brand attributes, preferences, and convenience. I have decided to interview some of my peers from my Environmental Science class. I asked each peer which alternative is most important for them when considering purchasing a product or service and why that alternative rates highest in personal importance. I was expected all three of my peers to choose cost when considering the purchase of a new product or service, considering college students tend to not have a lot of disposable income; however, I found two out of my three interviews to prove my hypothesis wrong- with one being brand attributes and one being convenience. The peer who chose price as the most important attribute explained herself by stating that since she does not have a job in college and her parents limit her spending on a weekly basis cost is most important for her. She did disclose, however, that sometimes by choosing a lower price when purchasing items, she does see a drastic difference in product quality. This leads me to my next interview summary, the student who chose brand attributes as the most important alternative says that even though they pay a few dollars more, their products last them longer as well as have better benefits- some items this student really focuses brand attributes on are: clothing, household goods, and personal care items such as shampoo and face wash. The final student who ended up choosing convenience states that this alternative is most important to him because he still lives on campus- "Yeah Publix is more expensive than Wal-Mart, but I can walk to Publix and I have to find a ride to Wal-Mart, which just isn't worth it." I have found that alternatives that people consider most important depend on their personal, financial, and living situations- money actually is not everything to a lot of people. Additionally, my segment tends to buy groceries, personal care items, and household items in-store, while typically buying clothing and personal wants online. Things that were consistent throughout my interviews were post-purchase evaluations, even though chosen alternatives differed. All students thought about how happy they were with their purchase- did the pros outweigh the cons? If yes, the purchase was thought of to be "worth the effort".