Report on Consumer Behavior of Soft Drinks Essay

INTRODUCTION Need for the study With the economic liberalization in India a number of global companies have been coming forward to invest in India and tapping perhaps and world’s biggest growing market. As the floodgates have been opened up for Multinational Companies, the global giant Coca-cola also decided to make an entry into the Indian market. In India, the per capita consumption of soft drinks is at rock bottom level even less than our neighboring countries Pakistan and Bangladesh, where it is four times as much. The last summer was particularly sweltering one, with temperatures hitting the high 40’s in some places yet; bottles were disappearing from shelves faster than they could be replaced. In the peak season, they found themselves short of capacity and having to turn around their trucks faster and faster to slake the greater Indian thirst. With growth rates zooming into the double digits, bottlers have been propelled into expanding capacities. With their big-time plans, the multinationals have changed the face of this business, long dominated by small-time businessmen. If demand continues to increase annually at an average of 20 percent, then volumes could reach one billion cases within ten years. 4 These arc ambitious targets and to reach them the cola makers will have to build capacity, infrastructure, make their bottlers more available and more affordable. There are 5. 00,000 retailers stocking soft drinks in India. Also, soft drinks which retail at any where between Rs. 9. 00 and Rs. 12. 00 are expensive when measured against purchasing power. As they concoct their strategies, keeping an eye on each other all the time, ultimately there’s only one guy they have to watch out for, who will determine their fortunes: the consumer. The real race to quench his thirst has just begun 5 Objectives of the study †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ To study about the consumer preference with regard to soft drink To study about the consumer perception with regard Coca — Cola To understand the Promotional Strategies To find out the medium which is most effective in reaching the consumers? 6 Research methodology. Data will be collected from a sample size 1000 and distributed over different areas by using simple Random Sampling. Random Sampling consists of 1. Demographic Segmentation 2. Sociocultural Segmentation 3. Use-Related Segmentation 4. Use-Situation Segmentation Analysis 1. Data Analysis is done both qualitatively and quantitatively. 2. The analysis is presented pictographically using bar graphs PERIOD OF THE STUDY: The period of the study is past one year 7 Scope of the study The new economic policies of the Govt. of India adopted in the mid eighties were given further impetus by the early nineties. The Indian market has undergone considerable changed as a direct consequence of many of these policies and soft drink industry is no exception to this. Keeping the above – mentioned perspective in the background, the researcher has selected soft drink market, since the marketing task his became more challenging and intensive competition has opened up new vistas. Companies are evolving marketing strategies by studying the demands of the market place increasingly penetrating into appropriate market segments introducing differentiated products to improve their market share. The soft drink market has achieved an accelerated growth in the past decade. Soft drinks include ail types of non – alcohol carbonated flavored or otherwise sweetened beverages. The entry of Pepsi and the reentry of Coca – Cola in the India market arc inevitably facing stiff competition but the ultimate winner is customer/consumer. This has led the researcher to study me perception of consumers towards different brands of soft drinks and to gauge out the 8 promotional strategic being adopted by the marketers to lure promiscuous buyers and win a larger share in the markets. The cola wars are intensifying and bringing manifold changes in the soft drink industry. The researcher has conducted a detailed survey, interpreting the responses to study the perception of the consumers. Now the people with changing life styles and increase in income levels have made the soft drink a common man drink. Liven through the existing system of marketing of soft drink has not tapped such a big market in the interiors of the country specially the rural areas, as marketing in the suburban and rural areas is developing slowly. Despite the soft drink industry is growing at a very healthy pace and stands at 18% per annum. The market for cool drinks comprises of adults in the 35 years age group who are largest consumers of the soft drink in the country followed by young adults in the age group of 15-25 years and children in the age group of 614 years hence, companies must develop their product and marketing slraleiues to suit their needs. Limitations of the study 1. The study is conducted with in the confines of the twin cities 2. The study made use of both the primary and secondary sources of information. The accuracy and authenticity of statistics depends of the accuracy of the second 9 source itself. Therefore, the limitation of the secondary source is also bound to be present in the analysis too. 3. In spite of all the care taken to translate the feelings and opinions of the respondents, the errors might creep into the study, may be because of the reason that consumers may fail to articulate their feelings properly. 4. Due to lack of time and finances, the sample size is confined to hundred only. The method adopted for sampling is convenient. Therefore, size and method implications are bound to be present in the findings. Hence, the findings cannot be taken for granted for generalization for the whole population. Study is confined to consumers belonging to age group between 20 — 25 years 10 CHAPTER-II COMPANY PROFILE 11 COMPANY PROFILE 2. 1 INDUSTRY PROFILE Soft drinks are typical and necessary consumer products, which are generally consumed by the individuals to quench the thirst and for a good flavour, and it is considered to be the symbol of social status. The two main reasons, which classify the soft drinks under consumer products, are their easy availability and their reasonable high degree standardization. Among the listed consumer goods (i. e. , perishable items) soft drinks is considered nonessential and as a luxury item. Soft drinks can be classified into two broad categories- carbonated drinks and noncarbonated drinks. Both have enormous market. In case of carbonated beverages the effectiveness of carbon-dioxide is the main factor in determining the quality. Cola, leman and orange are carbonated drinks while mango drinks come under non-carbonated category. A prolonged visible and sparking effervescence is sought after to produce soda taste in such drinks. The basic constituents of soft drinks are water, sweeteners, acidulates, flavorings, colorings, foaming agents and preservatives. The soft drink market is dominated by a few brands. Coca Cola and Pepsi products for example. 12 Soft drink industry in India has witnessed phenomenal growth in the recent past, particularly after the exit of Coca-Cola. The exit of Coca-Cola from India during the late seventies gave a bolter scope to several Indian soft drink companies to grow. These were a rapid growth in this industry but each one aggressively competed with one another to capture a major share in the market. The competition was very high even in terms of advertising. The perishable items like soft drinks need a lot of advertisement, as they are not necessary for the consumer. Most of the consumer consume just for fun & refreshment purpose and not and for nay other special reason. For that reason the soft drink marketers concentrate more on the advertisement part and they keep on designing new advertisements, which conquer the heart of the consumer. They take special care in casting the popular figures. These soft drink markets also include some offers like tours to someplace and so on. These soft drink companies will sponsor for many of the sport events in order to have good edge over the competitor as per as the publicity is considered. SOFT DRINK 1NDUSTR Y IN INDIA The entry of carbonated soil drink into the Indian soil is relatively new. The credit for introducing branded soil drink goes to pure drinks private Ltd, Delhi. Later this company became the franchised bottler of Coca – Cola export corporation. Accordingly, in 1950, Coca – Cola made its first debut in the Indian market. This 13 is the story about the origin of soft drinks in India. After Coca — Cola, Pepsi entered into the market. The exit of Pepsi made coke the undisputed leader in the soft drinks market. This company too was forced to leave India due to its non compliance with the rules and regulations of the Government in 1977. The exit of coke becomes a boom to national manufactures and all the players started increasing their business. Among the many national players like pure drinks Me Dowels, Modem foods, Spencer’s and parley, Parle emerged as the leader in the Indian soft drink market. It is believed that by the end of 1989. Parle captured more than 75% of the national soft drink market. In 1990. Pepsi rccntcrcd India and started making more noise in the market. All the same, it grabbed considerable market share from parley. Besides this. Coke also reentered India after 16 years of exile, fearing that, it cannot cling to its market leadership. Parle sold itself to Coca 1993. By buying over local competition the two American Cola giant share cleared up the arena and are packing all their power behind building the Indian franchise of their global girdling brands. If Pepsi invests Rs. 300 core, Coke will be investing more than that and vice versa. The total investment is of a size and scale that the Rs. 3048 cork soft drink businesses have never seen before. Both players see enormous potential in this country. Where swigging a carbonated beverage is still considered a treat virtually a luxury. Consequently by world standards India’s per capita consumption of three servings is rock bottom less even 14 Cola for $40 Million November, than over neighbors Pakistan and Bangladesh. Where is four times as much so, the cola giants feel that per caps can only go up and up. As incomes improve so do life styles a pattern they have seen in many of the 195 countries they sell their universal products. HISTORY OF COCA – COLA ATLANTA BEGINNINGS (1868 – 1892): It was 1886 in NEW YORK harbor, workers are constructing the statue of the liberty. 800 miles away another great symbol was about to be unveiled. Like many people who change the history, JOHAN PEMBHRTON, a civil war veteran & Atlanta pharmacist, was inspired by simple curiosity. He loved tinkering with medicinal formulas, and one afternoon, searching for a quick cure for head aches, his stipend up a fragrant Carmel colored liquid in a three legged pot. When it was done, he carried it a few doors down to Jacob’s pharmacy. I Icrc. the mixture was combined with carbonated water and sampled by customers who all agreed this new drink was something special. So Jacob’s pharmacy put it on sale for five cents a glass. PEMBERTON’S book keeper FRANK ROBINSON named the mixture COCA – COLA and wrote it out in his distinct script. To this day, COCA – COLA is written in the, same way. In this first year the company sold about 9 glasses of coca cola a day. A century later the coca-cola company has produced over ten billion gallons of syrup. Unfortunately for Pemberton, he was more of an inventor than a businessman and had no idea that the had invented one of the greatest products of the world. Over 15 the course of 3 years 1881 – 1891. Pemberton sold the company to Atlanta businessman Asa Griggs Candlcr for the total of about $ 2300. Candlcr would become the company’s first president and the first to bring real vision to the business and the brand. BEYOND A TLANTA (1893 – 1904) : As a Candler, a natural born salesman transformed Coca Cola from invention to a business. Lie knew there were thirsty people out there and Candler found brilliant and innovative ways to introduce them to this exciting new refreshment. He gave away coupons for complimentary first tastes of Coca — Cola brand. People saw (‘oca – Cola every where and the aggressive promotion worked. By 1895, Candler had built syrup plants in Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles. Inevitably, the soda’s popularity led to a demand for it to be enjoyed in new ways. In 1894. a Mississippi businessman named Joseph Bernhard became the first to put the drink in bottles. He sent of them to Candler, who responded without enthusiasm. Despite being a brilliant and innovative businessman, he didn’t realize then that the heart of Coca- Cola would be with portable, bottled beverage customers could take anywhere. He still didn’t realize it five years later when in 1899, two Chattanooga lawyers, Benjamin. Thomas and Joseph b. Whitehead secured exclusive rights from him to bottle and sell the beverage lor the sum of one dollar. SAFEGAURD1NG THEBKANOfl905-1918) : 16 Imitation may be the sincerest of flattery, but the Coca – Cola Company was none too pleased about the proliferation of copycat beverages taking the advantage of its success. This was great brand. Both needed to be protected. Advertising focused on the authenticity of Coca – Cola, urging can summers to â€Å"demand the genuine† and â€Å"accept no substitute†. The company also created a distinct bottle shape to assure people they were actually getting a real Coca -Cola. In 1916, the Root glass company of Treat, Indiana began manufacturing the famous contour bottle. The counter bottle for its attractive appearance, original design and the fact that, even in the drink, you could identify the genuine article. As the country roared into the new century, the Coca Cola Company grew rapidly moving into Cuba. Puerto Rico, France and other countries. In 1900 there were two bottles of Coca Cola, by 1920, there would be about 1000. THE WOODRUFF LEGACY: Perhaps no person has more impact on the Coca – Cola company the Robert Woodruff In 1923, five years after his father Ernest purchased the company from Asa Candler, Woodruff become the company president. While Candler had introduced the U. S. Coca – Cola, he would nearly spend 60 years as company leader introducing the beverage to the world beyond. Woodruff was marketing genius who saw opportunities for expansion every where the captivated foreign markets with his innovative campaigns. Coca Cola traveled with the U. S. team to the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics to the logo was emblazed on racing dog sleds in Canada & the walls of bull fighting arenas in Spain. He pushed 17 development & distribution of the six-pack, the open top cooler and all innovations that made it easier for people to drink Coca Cola. When it became clear to the company that housewives would be more inclined top buy six-packs they could open easily at home, women were sent door to door, installing branded Coca Cola openers, this is exactly the kind of â€Å"out side the box'† thinking that Cola not just a huge thrived under Woodruffs leadership and it made Coca success, but a big party of people’s lives. THE WAR & ITS LEGACY: In 1941 America entered into World War II thousands of men & women were sent overseas. The country & Coca – Cola rallied behind them. Woodruff ordered that every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca – Cola for 5 cents, wherever he is, whatever it cost the company 1943, General Dwight D. Eisenhower sent urgent cablegram to Coca – Cola requesting shipment of materials for 10 bottling plant. During the war many Europeans enjoyed their first taste of beverage and when peace finally came, Coca – Cola be placed within †arm’s reach desire'†, was coming true from the rnidf-40’s until 1960, the number of countries with bottling operations nearly doubled. Post war America alive with optimism & prosperity. Coca – Cola was a part of fun, carefree America lifestyle & the imagery of its advantage happy couples at the drive in, carefree moms driving are yellow convertibles reflection of the spirit of the limes. A WORLD Or CUSTOMERS (1960- 1981): 18 is a wonderful After 75 years of amazing success with brand Coca – Cola, the company decided to expand with new flavors sprite in 1961, TAB in 1963 and Fresco in 1966. The company’s presence worldwide was growing rapidly year after year, Coca Cola found a home in more & more places. Cambodia, Montserrat, Puce, Turkey &. more advertising for Coca – Cola always an important & exciting part of its business really came into its own in the 70’s and reflects a brand totally in tune with fun, playfulness and freedom. The international appeal of Coca- Cola was embodied buy 1971 commercial, where a group of young people from all over the world gathered on a hill top in Italy to sing â€Å"I’d like to buy the world a coke†. In 1978, the (‘oca Cola Company was selected as the only company allowed selling packaged cold drinks in the peoples Republic of China. DIETCOKESA NEWCOKE (1982 – 1989): The 80’s the era of legwarmers, head bands and the fitness craze and a time of much change and innovation at the Coca – Cola Company. In 1981. Roberto C. Goizucta became chairman of the board of directors & CEO of the Coca- Cola Company. He who fled Castro’s Cuba in 1961. completely overhauled the company with a strategy he called â€Å"intelligent risk taking† among his bold moves was organizing the numerous U. S. bottling operations into a new public company, Coca Cola enterprises, Inc.he also released diet coke, the very first extension of Cola trade mark within two years, it had become top low calorie drink Cola. One of Goi/ueta’s other the Coca in the world, second in success only to Coca 19 incentives in 1985, was the release of new taste for Coca Cola, the first change in formulation in 99 years. In taste people loved the new formula. In the real world they had a deep emotional attachment to the original and they had a deep emotional attachment to the original and they bagged and pleaded to get it back. Critics called it the biggest marketing blunder ever. But Goizueta, as Warren Buffet once said, had a knack for turning † lemins into lemonade†. The original formula was return to the market as Coca increase its lead over the competition Cola classic, the product began to a lead that continues to this day. COCA – COLA NOW (1990 – NOW) : In 1886. Coca – Cola brought thrilling refreshment to patrons of a small Atlanta pharmacy. Now well at 2nt century, the company’s goal is to provide that magic every time, in 200 countries, with each of it’s 230+ and ever growing brands. Coca – Cola has customers from Boston to Bahrain, drinking brands like Ambassa, Veitabela and freseolita. In the remotest corners of the globe, you can still find Coca Cola. In February 2000, Doug Daft was named company chairman. Coca – Cola a huge international company, but Draft’s vision is to have the company operate as a collection of smaller, locally run business. â€Å"No one†, Daft points out, â€Å"decides to enjoy one of our products globally†. T hat’s why Coca– Cola committed to local markets, to paying attention to what people from different cultures and backgrounds like to drink and where and how they want to drink, livery ten seconds. 1. 26,00 people choose to reach for one of the Coca. 20 Cola company brands & it is the company’s mission to make the choice exiling & satisfying every single time. COCA – COLA IN INDIA MARKET: Coca – Cola has started its operation in Indian market in October 1993. This has been its reentry in the India market after withdrawal of its operation in 1970s. The Indian market offers a strong consumer potential as majority of the population is in middle class category which is a strong consumer base for any FMCG company like Coca – Cola to float its range of products. Coca– Cola has acquired the soft drink brands like Thumps Up, Gold spot, l.imea. Maa/a, Bisleri soda etc which were floated by parle as these products have achieved a strong consumer base and formed a brand image in Indian market during the reentry of Coca range of products of Coca Cola in 1993. Thus these products became a part of Cola. MISSION Or COCA – COLA : Provide â€Å"clients† with appropriate â€Å"systems solutions† for â€Å"effective & profitable† business use adopting a † quality management approach† maintains a †competitive edge† with the help of latest and user friendly information technology. VISION OF COCA – COLA : To be a proactive & service oriented business partner for influencing change & contributing to increase share owner value through a dedicated & creative team. 21 OBJECTIVE OF COCA ~ COLA : To develop a business strategy for systems implementation which is â€Å"simple, effective & practiced'† to execute in a timely manner for bottling system. CHAPTER-III THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ABOUT THE TOPIC 22 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ABOUT THE TOPIC Consume r Behaviour, The Marketing Process and Models of Consumer Decision-making Psychological influences: the consumer as an individual Perception, motivation, learning, attitudes, attitude change and persuasive communications Social and cultural influences: the consumer as a group member. Group influence and opinion leadership; reference group influence; social class and economic influences, lifestyles, ethnic, religious, age and regional groups The consumer as a decision maker Individual decision-makin g, demographics and household decision making; personality, self-concept and sex roles, purchase and post-purchase â€Å"Some issues that arise during stages in the consumption process† Consumer’s perspective 23 CONSUM BEHAVIO ER UR â€Å"A model in this context is a representation of Consumer Behaviour. The aim is to provide a simplified portrayal of consumer processes to aid our description, explanation and control of buying behaviour†. Types of consumer behaviour models: †¢ Black Box models †¢ Personal variable models †¢ Personal †¢ Engel, Blackwell and Minored †¢ Howard-Sheath †¢ Nicosia Perhaps the most useful set of categories is that of low, medium or high level models. In this case the level refers to the level of complexity – so a low level model would be a relatively simple representation of the phenomenon while a Simple models 24 high level model of the same event would be much more complex and detailed and include more variables. In the marketing context the modeling approach has two key objectives: 1. description, explanation, prediction (and ultimately control of consume behaviors) and/or 2. Aiding researchers in their task of developing ‘better’ hypotheses and theories about the relationships and processes involved in consumer behaviour Models can be evaluated against their ability to satisfy either or both of these objectives. Study on Consumer Behaviour 25 SIM PLE M ODELS OF CONSUM BEHAVIOUR ER Lower level or simple models, in contrast, fall into three broad categories – black box models, decision process models and personal variable models. Black Box models – do not consider internal variables. They focus on inputs and outputs without concerning themselves with the intervening mental processes, which might determine the outcomes. Decision process models – attempt a simple description of the stages consumers’ progress through in reaching purchasing decisions. Most are variations on the classic problem solving/decision making process of: Define problem generate alternative solutions – evaluate alternatives – decide – implement monitor. These approaches give a sound basis for marketers seeking to devise strategies that are appropriate for each stage. Inevitably they are not strong on explanation or prediction without considerable elaboration, which makes them, falls into the comprehensive model category. Personal variable models – the personal variable models omit external variables. So these models focus on the mental processes of decision-making – internal elements and processes such as perception, motivation, beliefs and values. One classic example of the personal variable model is the fisheye model, summarized as A, = B, o, 26 Where A0 = the attitude towards object o8, = the strength of belief about o a, = the evaluation aspects of 6 n = the number of beliefs Study on Consumer Behaviour Individual Determinants of Consumer Behaviors Psychological Factors Influencing The Buying Decision Process â€Å"Psychological factors operating within individuals partly determine people’s general Behaviour and thus influence their behaviour as consumers. The primary psychological influences on consumer behaviour are: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Perceptions Motives Ability and knowledge Attitudes Personality Even though these psychological factors operate internally, it will become apparent that consumers are also very much affected by social forces outside the individual† CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR: LEARNING AND MEMORY Learning is a change in behaviour that is caused by experience. 27 Learning can occur through simple associations between a stimulus and response, or via a complex series of cognitive activities Behavioral learning theories assume that learning occurs responses to Classical conditioning occurs when a stimulus that naturally elicits a response (an unconditioned stimulus) is paired with another stimulus that does not initially elicit this response. Over time, the second stimulus (the conditioned stimulus) comes to elicit the response as well Study on Consumer Behavior This response can also extend to other, similar stimuli in a process known as stimulus generalization. This process is the basis for such marketing strategies as licensing and family branding, where a consumer’s positive associations with a product are transferred Operant or instrumental conditioning Occurs as the person learns to perform behaviour that produce positive outcomes. While classical learning to other contexts, outcomes and avoid those that result in negative conditioning involves the pairing of two stimuli, instrumental occurs when reinforcement is delivered following a response to a stimulus. Reinforcement is positive if a reward is delivered following a response. It is negative if a negative outcome is avoided by not performing a response. Punishment occurs when a response is followed by unpleasant events. 28 Extinction of the behaviour will occur if reinforcement is no longer received. Cognitive learning occurs as a result of mental processes. For example, observational learning takes place when the consumer performs behaviour as a result of seeing someone else performing and being rewarded for it. Memory refers to the storage of learning information. The way when it is perceived determines how it will be known as sensory memory, role in retaining information is encoded stored in memory. The memory systems short-term memory, and long-term memory each play a and processing information from the outside world. Information is not stored in isolation: it is incorporated into knowledge structures, where it is associated with other related data. The location of product information in associative networks and the level of abstraction at when and how this information will influence the likelihood of salience (or which it is coded, help to determine be activated at a later time. Some factors that retrieval include the level of familiarity with an item, its prominence) in memory, and whether the information was presented in pictorial or written form. 29 Products also play a role as memory markers: they are used by consumers to retrieve memories about past experiences (autobiographical memories) and are often valued for their ability to do this. This function also contributes to the use of nostalgia in marketing strategies. Memory for product information can be measured through either recognition or Recall techniques. Consumers are more likely to recognize an advertisement if it is presented to them than to recall one without being given any cues. † (See Solomon 1994 137-138) Learning theories. Marketing and Involvement Theory Examples of low involvement Examples of high involvement Free sample of hair shampoo delivered Faced with mounting debts, individual through front door and stored in responds to advertisement offering bathroom. When usual shampoo runs to solve the problems with a single out, trial pack is used, found acceptable loan. Learns the cost of borrowing and purchased (or not). From loan sharks A positive emotional response is the generation of higher-order Generated by the use of a particulate conditioning allows the customer to Classical pop tune. This becomes associated have positive feelings about a Conditioning with a product, even though the product, which may be more person alternatives, does not consciously pay expensive than e. g. attention to the advertising luxury goods. 30 A common brand of baked beans id Clothes purchased and worn give Operant purchased. They taste ‘OK 1 . The rise to numerous complements, conditioning consumer continues to purchase that Further cloths of the same label are brand bought. An individual learns that Amstrad Keen cooks learn about various Iconic rote makes personal computers without makes of kitchen knives by careful learning ever consciously focusing on PCs or reading of Study on advertisements with they Amstrads advertisements find enjoyable Consumer Behaviour The Guardian’ unavailable at Commuter, distressed by daily Insight newsagents when on holiday, difficulties with parking decides to learning Customer buys ‘the Independent’ purchase mountain bike to solve the instead problem Consumer spots ‘low salt, low sugar’ Consumers as a family, having won Latent beans on the supermarket shelf, the pools, decide that they can now learning Remembers healthy eating afford their ‘dream car. Choose advertisements and purchases tin model they have always wanted A child learns parental roles by Individual observes reaction to a Vicarious observation but without really friend s new style sutt before deciding learning thinking about it to purchase Car taken to garage for service. Commuter finds level of smoke Customer offered a new higher-Experimental pollution on upper deck of bus too powered model to use for 31 the day-learning offensive to tolerate and decides to Impressed by the car, the consumer travel on lower deck decides to move up the range when the time comes to change car. Consumer Decision Processes The most common, everyday problem solving sequence is: 32 33 In the marketing context, Engel, Blackwell and Minored suggest that this becomes: S Information search S Evaluate alternatives S Purchase and Outcomes Stage I: Information Search The first step in this stage is often internal memory search to establish whether the individual possesses enough information about the available options to make a decision without further action. In low involvement consumer decisions this may often be the case, but external search is more usual with high involvement purchases. Opinion leadership and word-of-mouth communication will be significant at this stage, as well as the more formal marketing and advertising messages. Similarly, past learning, stored in the memory system, is shown to be a significant source even in extended problem solving situations. The information search stage is also affected strongly by individual differences and environmental factors e.g. the traits and orientation of some individual’s means that they have the personality characteristic of caution – such people will tend to conduct extensive and detailed information search. Similarly families and reference groups are likely to make significant contributions to the amount and style of search conducted. 34 Many of our decisions are often made on less than complete information. The important point is that the purchaser feels that enough information has been gathered. Study on Consumer Behavior In the light of the differences between high and low involvement purchasing, the perception of the value of continued search is likely to be significantly higher in high involvement decisions. The external search is dominated by marketing messages and the information so gathered should be fed into the memory system via processes similar to the research on Perception: Exposure Attention Comprehension.