DO CONSUMERS MAKE RATIONAL DECISIONS? Introduction ? Is rational ?consumer behaviour? (defined by Jobber as ?the reasons why customers buy, their choice criteria, when, how and where to buy?) what we see as clever buying? How does one even define a rational consumer? ? Generally a rational person is someone who considers carefully before acting, and is usually able to make the right decisions because of it; ? Alternatively, other people may interpret it as spending as little money as possible, and ?saving? whenever possible; ? Collins English Dictionary defines rational as ?the use of logic or reason in thinking out a problem?; ? Rationality is defined as ?the state or quality of being rational or logical?; ? A rational consumer will not be manipulated by advertising and makes the right economical choices and doesn?t let emotions interfere with making decisions; ? No consumer is 100% rational.
Everyday examples ? Supermarkets do their ?own brand? products.
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Decision Making Chart
United StatesPrice is the attractive feature but many of us are tempted by the ?nicer? products (i.e. Economy orange squash Versus Robinsons); ? Another example is - ?Never go food shopping when hungry.? If you go shopping after a big meal, you end up buying more sensibly than when you are craving for all sorts of food. We usually end up buying things we don?t feel like having when we get home. This behaviour can hardly be described as rational; ? Psychology is one of the key words in advertising today and makes us behave in a weird way buying items we don?t want with the money we don?t have, achieve in convincing us that we?ll look beautiful and younger if we buy a certain product.
? An example on the larger scale is the terrorist attack in America. It has made consumers everywhere behave...