Overcoming information overload in retail environments: Imagination and sales promotion in a wine context

Information overload is a common problem in retail environments. Reducing information in a retail environment is not always feasible or desirable given the plethora of products and extent of limitations on retailers in terms of merchandising and display decisions. Therefore, retailers need other ways of overcoming information overload than simply reducing the amount of information. However, extant research is unsettled with respect to arguments in favor of and against adverse effects of information overload. To enhance our understanding of these issues, the present research presents two studies that investigate the moderating role of consumer decision processing approaches in an information overload retail space. The findings reveal that the consumer imagination offers a more efficient processing route, circumventing the frustration associated with information overload and leading to enhanced consumer outcomes compared to the less efficient consideration route. Further, heuristic processing triggered by sales promotions in high information retail environments lead to piqued arousal and enhanced consumer imagination, ultimately bolstering consumer responses to the product. Implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.     

The effects of time pressure and information load on decision quality

This study attempts to identify conditions under which consumer information overload occurs. A theory which states that information overload will occur when the time-related task demands exceed the capacity of the system is suggested and tested. An experiment is reported in which an inverted U-shaped function relating decision quality to information load occurred when time pressure was present, but did not when it was absent.     

Decision Making by Low‐Literacy Consumers in the Presence of Point‐of‐Purchase Information

Low‐literacy consumers face disadvantages when making product choices. This article presents the results of two studies designed to explore differences in decision‐making behavior across consumer literacy levels, focusing on consumers’ ability to evaluate information in print ads and product packaging. The authors demonstrate that the presence of a visual decision aid at the point of purchase can improve choice for low‐literacy consumers.     

INDIVIDUAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ON SUPPLY CHAIN INVENTORY MANAGEMENT: AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF INFORMATION AVAILABILITY AND PROCEDURAL RATIONALITY

Some strategies for mitigating ordering inefficiencies in supply chains advise sharing information among decision‐makers. However, there has been little consideration of how individual perceptions intervene in the use of available information in decision‐making processes. This article reports the results of an experiment in which participants were instructed to minimize inventory holding and backlog costs for their supply chains as a whole. The analysis suggests that additional information affects supply chain inventory management costs only when rational decision‐making processes are followed. Decreased costs are observed when rational decision‐making is applied with backlog information. In contrast, increased costs are observed when consumer demand information is available.     

The dual role of informational social influence: Implications for marketing management

Evidence is presented from a laboratory study to support the seeking of both recommendations and attribute-value information from information sources during purchase decisions. Emphasis on recommendation information is associated with a broader view of consumer decision making including the subcontracting of brand choice to others and a hybrid decision making strategy under conditions of high perceived risk and high time cost in search. The shift in choice strategy is accompanied by a decrease in the extent of attribute-value information search, a finding which is the opposite of that expected on the basis of previous research and theory in the area. Managerial implications of these choice strategies and associated information use are discussed.     

Profiling consumers in home ware stores according to their decision‐making process: an exploratory study

Despite the growing interest of South African consumers regarding home ware, insufficient research is available regarding their decision making of this product category. The objectives of this exploratory study were to evaluate consumers' decision‐making process regarding home ware, and to suggest consumer profiles of the home ware based on the decision‐making process. A qualitative research strategy was used to purposively recruit both male and female participants walking around a home ware store. Semi‐structured interviews were used to collect data from 33 participants at which point data saturation was reached. Each step of the decision‐making process was investigated during the interviews, using questions relevant to the purchasing of home ware. The results indicated clear differences as well as similarities in home ware consumers' decision‐making process. It was evident that the decision‐making process was a result of their specific need for a home ware product. Consumers evaluated home ware based on their needs, values and personal style, while making their final product choice based on product quality, appearance and price. It was also possible to identify home ware consumer profiles based on an evaluation of their decision‐making process. Four profiles were identified, namely, the quality‐conscious, the fashion‐conscious, the lifestyle‐orientated and the impulsive home ware consumer. The characteristics associated with each profile should provide the growing home ware market with insight regarding the specific needs and preferences of the consumer. Seeing that this study was only exploratory in nature, it is recommended that further research regarding the purchasing of home ware should be done.     

Consumer Decision-Making Styles as a Function of Individual Learning Styles

The interrelations between individuals' learning styles and their consumer decision-making styles are explored. A Secondary Learning Styles Inventory is developed to measure six characteristics of learning, and a Consumer Styles Inventory is developed to measure eight characteristics of consumer decision making. Significant correlations between 21 of the 48 pairs of learning and consumer decision-making characteristics are found. Implications for the dissemination of consumer education and information are suggested.     

Consumer habit forming,information acquisition,and buying behavior

Based on the three stages of consumer decision making proposed by Howard, this study analyzes the influences of consumer habit formation on information acquisition, stored information, and buying behavior. Using a sample of women having or expecting their first child, their habit formation with regard to three baby-related products is assessed. The data confirm most of the hypotheses derived from the theoretical model. Implications for marketing are discussed.     

基于可能度的多混合属性决策方法

针对权重信息已知且属性值为混合型的多属性决策,对用模糊语言和实数表示的属性进行了区间化处理,从而把多混合属性决策转化为属性值为区间数的多属性决策。然后基于新定义的可能度计算公式,给出多混合属性决策的可能度法,通过民航实例说明方法的可行性和有效性。     

The Hierarchy of Consumer Participation: Knowledge and Proficiency in Telecommunications Decision Making

This paper establishes a “hierarchy of consumer participation” that has striking parallels to the hierarchy of political involvement developed by Milbrath (1965, 1982). Analysis of consumer decision making required by the deregulation of telecommunications shows that independence of decision making, propensity to use sources of information, and propensity to influence others' decisions are highly interrelated. Four main types of consumers are identified: consumer influentials, active consumers, dependent consumers, and nondecision makers. The levels of consumer participation should be highly salient in defining targets and programs for consumer research, education, protection, and policymaking.     

The impact of consumer decision‐making styles on consumer confusion in Mauritius: An empirical analysis

This article investigates the effects of consumer decision‐making styles on consumer confusion and harm. While consumer confusion has been well documented in the literature, this investigation attempts to bridge our understanding on its relationship with consumer decision‐making styles. Empirical data was collected from a field survey where 400 consumers selected at 20 supermarkets in Mauritius were asked to respond to a questionnaire measuring three variables under study: consumer confusion, consumer decision‐making styles, and situational factors. Findings from the MANOVA parametric test showed that there is a significant difference between consumer decision‐making styles and consumer confusion. Even when covariate situational factors were controlled through the parametric test MANCOVA, results still showed a significant difference between consumer decision‐making styles and consumer confusion. More specifically, ANCOVA tests showed that the findings were specifically significant for three types of confusion: product confusion, packaging confusion, and product complexity. The study tends to confirm that a consumer's style of decision making does impact on consumer confusion.     

Linking Sources of Consumer Confusion to Decision Satisfaction: The Role of Choice Goals

Previous empirical research on the relationship between consumer confusion and customer satisfaction has largely neglected the role of choice goals. In a context of technologically complex products, the authors analyze the effect of selected choice goals on the consumer confusion‐decision satisfaction link. The empirical findings, which are based on a field study of smart phone users, show that different sources of confusion have distinctive effects on choice goals, which in turn influence decision satisfaction. For example, while confusion caused by ambiguous information and choice overload is found to reduce choice confidence, perceived attribute similarity between products or brands increases choice confidence. Among the choice goals, evaluation costs and negative affect are found to increase decision satisfaction. The findings have important implications for marketers and consumer policymakers in terms of marketing communication and customer satisfaction.     

Young Adults and Politics: Investigating Factors Influencing Voter Decision Making

Many parallels have been drawn between politics and marketing; however, the application of consumer behavior decision making to voter decision making is still an important research focus. Results from general elections around the world show that the turnout among young adults tends to be lower than in the general electorate, suggesting low interest and involvement in politics. This qualitative study investigated low-involvement decision making of young adult voters in Australia. Data were compiled from semistructured face-to-face interviews conducted with 29 young adults to explore their views, and NVivo software was used to assist with thematic analysis. Findings suggest that with low-involvement voter decision making, perceived knowledge and passive information seeking are important factors. Exposure to the media also plays an important role, and young voters rely more on traditional media such as newspapers and television than on social media for current political information.     

Assessing the needs of assisted reproductive technology users of an online bulletin board

Consumers who are infertile and decide to use assisted reproductive technologies undergo lengthy, expensive and potentially risky medical procedures in their quest for a pregnancy and a live birth. In this research we use a consumer model of decision making to analyse the process. We review information available to consumers and we assess use of an online bulletin board which gives consumers social support and medical information during the process. We conclude with the needs for consumer education and protection.     

Real Estate Agents As a Source of Information for Home Buyers

The concern for the consumer's right to be adequately informed when making a purchase has provided an impetus for legislation and research in a variety of consumer decision areas. Absent from these efforts has been any examination of the most important consumer decision—the purchase of a home. This study examined the quantity and quality of information that a key marketing agent in the purchase of a home, the real estate broker, is capable of providing consumers. A variety of informational areas are examined with most of them centered on the quality of life in a community neighborhood. The results suggest areas where brokers can be better informed and thereby better serve their public as a source of information.     

Consumer strategic decision making and choice process: prefabricated house purchase

This study examines the consumer choice process in case of strategic purchases, such as house buying. In view of the existing literature exploring consumer decision making and choice for strategically important products, the purpose of this research is twofold: (a) to develop a conceptual model of strategic decision making; and (b) to empirically explore this model with regard to prefabricated house purchases. The results of our qualitative research suggest that in addition to the idiosyncratic characteristics of the customer, his or her personal situation, environmental factors, the role of feelings, experience, subconscious factors, needs, and goals should to be taken into account to better understand strategic consumer decision making and their choice process when buying a house.     

Why bad feelings predict good behaviours: The role of positive and negative anticipated emotions on consumer ethical decision making

Research suggests that emotions can greatly influence consumer decision making and behaviours. Notwithstanding, our understanding of the role of anticipated emotions in what is an inherently complex deliberation process—that of consumer ethics—is still quite limited. The present study thus aims to address this gap, in two key ways: first, by measuring the influence of positive and negative anticipated emotions at each stage of the consumer ethical decision making process; and second by describing the specific emotions that most affect each component of the consumer ethical deliberation process and assessing their relative weight in predicting decisions involving ethical issues. Through the examination of 603 ethical situations and using multiple regression analysis, the findings indicate that anticipated emotions can account for up to 59% of the variance in consumer decisions involving ethics. Anticipating the experience of negative emotions as a result of carrying out an unethical behaviour was the affective component found to most influence consumer ethical deliberation process; and anticipated guilt was the discrete emotion exerting the greatest effect on consumer decision making in ethical situations. The findings indicate that more than feeling good, consumers avoid feeling bad; such that ethically favourable decisions emerge to prevent experiencing negative emotions in the future.     

The effect of information overload on consumer choice quality in an on‐line environment

As more and more consumers become part of the net population, retailers and manufacturers as well as dot‐com storefronts are touting consumers by providing an ever‐increasing amount of product information. Their long‐term survival and profitability may be determined by how much and how well their product information is presented to and processed by the consumers. By combining both the traditional and structural approaches to the information‐overload phenomenon, this study investigates the impact of Web site information on consumer choice and psychological states in an on‐line environment. Varying the number of alternatives and attributes (traditional measure) and attribute level distribution across alternatives (structural measure), this study asks subjects to choose the best (dominant) CD player in a given set. Their subjective states such as satisfaction, confidence, and confusion are also measured. Results show that the number of attributes and attribute level distribution are good predictors of the effect of information overload on consumer choice. In addition, the study finds that on‐line information overload results in less satisfied, less confident, and more confused consumers. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Consumer socialization,social structural factors and decision‐making styles: a case study of adolescents in Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the process of consumer socialization will determine adolescents’ decision‐making styles. Eight decision‐making styles were conceptualized as outcomes of the socialization process, which is acquired via interaction with socialization agents, namely parents, peers, printed media, television commercials and in‐school education. The study also proposed five social structural variables (social class, gender, ethnicity, residence and religion) as being associated with the socialization agents and decision‐making styles. The study sample consisted of 934 adolescents between the ages of 16 and 19 years. The data were collected using a self‐administered questionnaire and analysed with the SPSS computer program. As a result of regression analyses, significant relationships were found between social structural factors and socialization processes, suggesting that the influence of socialization agents on adolescents may vary according to certain demographic characteristics. Significant relationships were also found between social structural factors and socialization processes. Peers appeared to be the most important agents of consumer socialization, contributing to a variety of desirable as well as undesirable consumer decision styles. Printed media and television commercials were also found to be significant sources of the acquisition of both desirable and undesirable decision‐making styles. Parents and in‐school education, however, were insignificant in the acquisition of any decision‐making styles among adolescents. Information obtained from this study could be useful to government agencies and consumer educators. The most revealing finding of this study is that parents did not contribute to the formulation of decision‐making orientation for adolescents. This points to the need for consumer educators to take steps in designing programmes that will involve parents as primary socialization agents at home; this may be facilitated via printed materials. Apart from this, the information can also be helpful in enabling marketers to be more effective in targeting various adolescent markets by formulating marketing strategies according to demographic factors, socialization process and decision‐making styles.     

Who Uses Facts Up Front? A Baseline Examination of Who is Using Standardized Front‐of‐Package Nutrition Disclosures

The Facts Up Front front‐of‐package (FOP) nutrition system is currently displayed on packaged foods in the United States. This initiative is being implemented by more than 50 manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers in the United States on their branded and private‐label packaged food products. The in‐store presence of Facts Up Front is supported by a recently launched consumer education campaign. This study employs a sample of 1,400 female primary household shoppers with children, with oversamples of Hispanic and African American ethnic subgroups, to examine initial awareness and evaluations of Facts Up Front. Results show that Hispanics are more aware of and engaged with Facts Up Front than Caucasians. African Americans report higher levels of engagement and understanding of Facts Up Front vs. Caucasians. Importantly, Hispanic and African American mothers also report using this FOP system to make decisions. Based on these findings, important implications are offered for consumer welfare and public policy.