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Floor cloths: a lesson in consumer awareness

27/05/2014

This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.




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I would like to share with you today a reflection that I've been doing for some time: what would happen with the budget of people and families , if they begin to use logic to buying floor cloths as a general rule for consumption decisions ?

I chose the floor cloths because , as you know , my object of study is the influence of emotional factors in making a decision - and I can not think of any emotional appeal to interfere with the decision to buy this product .

Ie , what motivates us to buy floor cloths are purely practical , concrete and tangible issues , which in itself largely eliminates the possibility of thinking " irrationally " about what we gain ( or lose ) when we buy cloths ground.

Another factor that made me choose the floor cloths is that you might not even be responsible for that purchase , but if you live anywhere other than on the street or hotel, floor cloths certainly part of its budget ( or his family ) .

Now , I invite you to dissect the process of decision making that involves consuming .

Thinking how economic agents

Traditional economics says that people ( economic agents ) make their purchase decisions based on opportunity cost or trade- offs . This means that every time we make a purchase , we think in terms of gains and losses.

An example : If I decide to pay $ 3.00 per coffee , I'll have £ 3.00 to less to spend on other things . If I realize this opportunity cost as a gain , I take coffee . If , on the other hand, I find that these same R $ 3.00 can bring me more satisfaction if I use them otherwise , I give up coffee .

In short , you can not have everything at the same time and why economic agents rationally evaluate their consumption decisions .

Reflection: When was the last time you made a decision based consumer exclusively in the opportunity cost ? ( be honest ! )



Thinking like humans

The point is that even in the case of an innocent coffee , our process of making decisions about consumption is far from this analysis suggests that the traditional economy .

Our decision -making process is more or less like this :

In phase 1 of the perception . :
a) I feel like a coffee ;
b ) To purchase the coffee , I need R $ 3,00 .

In phase 2 of the evaluation . :
c ) I have R $ 3.00 available ?
d ) Yes ( note that here no matter if I have the R $ 3.00 in your wallet , or if I can use some kind of credit ) ; or
e) No.

In phase 3 of the decision . :
f ) If yes, I drink coffee and I satisfy my desire ;
g ) If not, I do not drink coffee , but the desire is still there .

Reflection: how often have you postponed a consumption decision , even given the conditions to make it happen ?

We do not think in terms of opportunity cost , because we do not have a mental apparatus capable of handling this type of reflection every consumption decision .

At no time do we ask ourselves what do we lose if we do not buy . Rather, we strive to think of ways to satisfy the desire , which is the first step in the decision making process.

Reflection: how many times have you caught yourself thinking of finding a way to achieve a desire for consumption , rather than postpone it , or review it ? It all starts with the lack

As we have seen , the process of consumer decision making begins with the desire and our wants , needs and desires stem from lack .

Therefore, we can say that our standard of consumption is driven by the shortage. If not missed , we do not have the desire , if there is a desire , not strive to achieve it , nor feel the pain of not being able to satisfy you .

I need to buy floor cloths !

The lack that gives rise to this desire is what we will call here the lack of concrete . That is, we need to buy floor cloths , or because they have no , or because we no longer fulfill their function or lost their characteristics . In the good old Portuguese are tattered and worn and not clean anything.

Even needing floor cloths , people do not go around paying any price for them , even if they have the money. People also do not " take the opportunity " and end up buying three dozen floor cloths just because the promotion was a must.

Nobody gets upset , sad or depressed for underestimating the price of floor cloths and have finished taking home less than rags wanted . We get outraged by the prices of cloths , but not upset .

Do not know anyone that goes to a supermarket in the day to buy floor cloths to relax or to "feel better" . As I know of no creature that show to " friend " a brand new collection of floor cloths that she just bought .

Floor cloths not raise the emotional consumption and therefore our consumption decisions about this product become more rational and based on opportunity cost . See? We are able !
It's all a matter of perception .


Source : Modern Consumer

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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.

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