The Engel-Kollat-Blackwell model of buying behaviour

The Engel-Kollat-Blackwell model explains how consumers make purchasing decisions through a structured process of handling information. This model takes an information processing approach, meaning it focuses on how people receive, interpret, and use information to decide on buys. It consists of five key stages that build on each other, leading to a potential purchase. However, a purchase does not always happen after these stages, and afterwards, consumers may experience satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

The five stages of the model

1. Input - This is the starting point where consumers encounter incoming information, known as stimuli, such as details about a brand, its price, or the company's identity. Attention to these stimuli may or may not occur, depending on their relevance or appeal.
2. Information processing - If the stimuli capture attention, the consumer begins to process them further. This stage is influenced by the individual's cognitive style, which refers to their preferred way of thinking and problem-solving, as well as their past life experiences that shape how they interpret information.
3. Decision-making - Here, the consumer recognises a need for a product, triggering a search for options. They then compare and evaluate alternatives to determine the best choice.
4. Decision process variables - Internal factors, also called dispositional factors, come into play. These include personal elements like beliefs, values, attitudes, personality, and lifestyle.
5. External factors - Outside influences affect the decision, such as family expectations or cultural norms.

After these stages, a purchase might occur, followed by feelings of pleasure and satisfaction if the decision feels right, or dissatisfaction and cognitive dissonance if there's regret. Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable mental tension from holding conflicting thoughts, such as doubting a purchase.

This model highlights that buying is not just a simple act but a complex interplay of internal thoughts and external pressures.

Factors influencing choice of store

When deciding where to buy, consumers consider various factors that make one store more appealing than another. These factors can be grouped into situational aspects (related to the immediate context) and individual differences (personal characteristics). Understanding these helps explain why people prefer certain shops for different purposes.

Situational factors affecting store choice

• Aspects of the store - Features like accessibility, convenience, price, and quality play a major role.
• Purpose of the shopping trip - The reason for shopping influences choice, such as a weekly food shop, buying gifts, or browsing.

Individual differences affecting store choice

• Beliefs, values, and attitudes - Personal views, like prioritising sustainability over low price, guide decisions.
• Personality - Traits such as a need for personal gratification can lead to choosing luxury or unique stores.
• Age - Older consumers are more likely to shop for recreation or pleasure, while younger ones might focus on efficiency.

These factors show that store choice is personalised and context-dependent, often balancing practical needs with personal preferences.

Research study: Sinha et al. (2002) on store preferences

This study explored why shoppers prefer certain stores, focusing on factors like age, gender, and store type.

Method

Participants were shoppers in Ahmedabad, India, who were approached as they left various shops. They completed a questionnaire with Likert-scale items and one open-ended question asking for three reasons for choosing that store.

Results

Over 70% of participants cited convenience and product range as key reasons, but these varied by demographics:

Other reasons included service (common in 30-40-year-olds), ambience (important to 25-40-year-olds and more to males), and previous patronage (more common in females). Females also spent more time considering alternatives than males.

Conclusions

Store choice depends on multiple interacting factors, including age and gender, highlighting the complexity of consumer decisions.

Evaluation

• Strengths - High validity as shoppers were surveyed right after shopping, making reasons fresh and accurate; Likert scales provide objective, quantifiable data.
• Limitations - Potential for demand characteristics or social desirability bias; Likert items might be interpreted subjectively by different people.

Post-purchase cognitive dissonance

After buying a product, consumers may experience post-purchase cognitive dissonance, the mental discomfort from questioning their decision. This often happens when the purchase conflicts with beliefs or when alternatives seem better in hindsight. Certain factors increase this dissonance, but there are strategies to reduce it.

Factors that increase post-purchase dissonance

• Commitment - Stronger personal values or beliefs lead to greater dissonance if the purchase contradicts them, creating inconsistency.
• Involvement - High involvement (much time and effort in searching) heightens dissonance due to the investment; however, low-involvement impulse buys can also cause regret.
• Culture and religion - Buying items prohibited by one's culture or religion but desirable in others amplifies tension.

Strategies for reducing post-purchase dissonance

• Adaptive preference formation - Consumers mentally exaggerate the positives of their purchase and downplay alternatives, reconstructing memories to justify the choice.
• Social proof - Seeking reassurance by reading positive reviews from other buyers.
• Feedback - Providing positive feedback, like leaving online reviews, to affirm the decision.

These strategies help restore mental harmony, showing how consumers actively manage post-purchase feelings.

Research study: Nordvall (2014) on dissonance in low-involvement purchases

This study examined whether cognitive dissonance occurs with everyday, low-involvement buys and if adaptive preference formation helps resolve it.

Method

Participants were students who rated their purchasing habits for various products. They first rated how often they bought 30 unbranded products, both organic and non-organic. Items with similar ratings were paired to ensure equal desirability. To create dissonance, they rejected one item per pair. All 60 products were then re-presented with reminders of choices, and participants re-evaluated them, justifying decisions from a list of reasons.

Results

Conclusions

Cognitive dissonance can arise even with low-involvement purchases, and adaptive preference formation (adjusting preferences to favour the chosen item) is an effective way to reduce it.

Evaluation

• Strengths - Good validity as the method mimics common online grocery shopping in Northern Europe, making findings applicable.
• Limitations - Reduced validity from potential demand characteristics or social desirability bias, as participants might not have rated real purchases; reasons were selected from a list, possibly missing unique justifications.

Issues and debates in consumer psychology

Consumer psychology involves broader considerations that connect research to real-world applications and theoretical approaches.

Application to everyday life

Insights from studies like Nordvall (2014) on rejecting organic products can promote environmentally friendly behaviours by addressing dissonance, encouraging more sustainable choices.

Cultural differences

Research like Nordvall (2014), conducted in Sweden (an individualist culture where aligning values and behaviour is key), may not generalise. In collectivist cultures (emphasising group harmony), post-purchase dissonance might be less common as decisions prioritise social norms over personal consistency.

Idiographic versus nomothetic approaches

Studies like Sinha et al. (2002) and Nordvall (2014) are mainly nomothetic (seeking general laws through quantitative methods like Likert scales and predefined lists), but include some idiographic elements (unique insights from open questions). A more idiographic focus, exploring individual stories, could reveal missed reasons for choices. In Sinha et al. (2002), consumers answered one open question compared with 35 closed questions.

Reductionism versus holism

The Engel-Kollat-Blackwell model is holistic, integrating internal processes, external stimuli, and social contexts to view buyers as unique. This contrasts with reductionist views that might isolate single factors like personality without considering interactions.