Consumers make dozens of purchasing decisions every day. Professional marketers want to understand what motivates consumers to make a purchase. These factors and influences are numerous, from broad social and economic trends to personal considerations and individual perceptions of products, services, brands and companies’ advertising strategies.
Routine purchasing decisions do not take much time; however, with more expensive products and services, consumers will need to consider the relative benefits and costs of each purchasing alternative.
In case of Ethel’s Chocolate Lounges, extensive decision-making is the main type of customer buying decisions, whereas traditional materialistic values and socialization with members of the same or higher social status (upward mobility) are the most salient factors affecting consumer willingness to stay at Ethel’s.
The story of chocolate houses dates back to the seventeenth century (Anonymous, n.d.). At that time, members of society’s elite would use them as a place for gathering and socializing in a luxurious atmosphere with a cup of superior quality hot chocolate (Anonymous n.d.).
Today, Ethel’s Chocolate is the company which preserves and cherishes old chocolate traditions; named in honor of Ethel Mars whose husband founded a candy company in 1911, Ethel’s Chocolate Lounges exemplify a unique place, where chocolate is given a chance to live fresh life (Anonymous, n.d.).
All consumer buying decisions can be divided into three categories: routine response behaviors, extensive decision-making, and limited decision-making (Lamb et al., 2010). Routine response behavior is a pattern of consumer decision-making most commonly associated with low-cost and frequently purchased goods (Lamb et al., 2010).
Consumers who make routine buying decisions are not typically aware of their needs, until they are subjected to advertising and marketing influences/ campaigns (Lamb et al., 2010). Limited decision-making implies that consumers are familiar with the product but have little or no knowledge of the current brands and product options available in the market (Lamb et al., 2010).
Neither of these buying decisions describes the choice to indulge at Ethel’s. Rather, it is through extensive decision-making that customers choose or do not choose to socialize at Ethel’s. Extensive decision making comes into play when the product is very expensive and consumers buy the product infrequently (Lamb et al., 2010).
Consumers are actively involved in the process of taking the buying decision. Yet, everything changes. Consumer buying decisions are no exception. Most probably, with time, consumers who indulge at Ethel’s will start to exhibit routine response behaviors, but not until they familiarize themselves with Ethel’s products and services and get used to the patterns of the company’s marketing and advertising strategies.
Numerous factors affect consumer buying decisions; these include but are not limited to cultural, social, individual, and psychological influences (Lamb et al., 2010). In case of Ethel’s, cultural and social factors produce the strongest influences on consumer choices.
Ethel’s Lounges provide unique opportunities for patrons, who want to spend their time in the lap of luxury; this means that the cultural values of material success and personal freedom, as well as aspirational reference groups, motivate consumers to choose Ethel’s (Lamb et al., 2010).
The mere fact that prices at Ethel’s are not for everyone implies, that selection and social status play a huge role in how consumers make their choices. Many consumers choose to be at Ethel’s because they can become members or at least feel like members of the reference groups they would like to join (Lamb et al., 2010).
It is possible to assume that most consumers socializing at Ethel’s have their income needs satisfied; for this reason, they seek to spend their money on what best corresponds to their values (De Mooij & Hofstede, 2002).
Luxurious and costly, Ethel’s builds on traditional materialistic values. Simultaneously, individual factors like gender should not be disregarded: gender affects consumer choices at Ethel’s, and most consumers attending Ethel’s Chocolate Lounges are women.
Based on the analysis of consumer factors and choices, socialization with other members of the same or higher social status will, most probably, become the most salient driver of motivation among Ethel’s consumers.
Most consumers at Ethel’s exhibit the most characteristic features of prestige-seeking behaviors: they are looking to possess prestige brands which symbolize and reaffirm their social group membership (Vigneron & Johnson, 1999).
Since Ethel’s products are neither critical nor routine/affordable for most consumers, prestige, reliance on social advancement, socialization, and recognition will help the company to attract more visitors and retain them.
Marketing managers at Ethel’s say that enjoying chocolate in a luxurious setting for women is the same as taking a candle-lit bubble bath (Anonymous, n.d.). The main needs Ethel’s appeals to include (1) people’s striving for upward social mobility, and (2) Americans’ desire to buy the best for their money (Anonymous, n.d.).
Ethel’s also satisfies many other consumer needs, including prestige-seeking, social recognition and membership, and socialization with members of the same social group.
Most probably, the value derived from attending Ethel’s is not material but social and emotional. Most Ethel’s visitors are women, who experience positive emotions simply from being part of Ethel’s luxurious and prestigious community.
Conclusion
Consumers make dozens of purchasing decisions every day. As the rate and intensity of market competition increase, marketers seek to understand the main drivers of purchasing behaviors and factors affecting them.
In case of Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge, prestige seeking, socialization, recognition, and belonging to a higher social stratum are the most salient drivers of consumer buying decisions. More often than not, consumers engage in extensive decision-making, until they familiarize themselves with the range and quality of products offered by Ethel’s.
For many consumers, the value derived from visiting Ethel’s is not material but emotional. Most Ethel’s visitors are women, who experience positive emotions simply from being part of Ethel’s luxurious and prestigious community.
References
Anonymous. (n.d.). Ethel’s Chocolate Lounges. Case study.
De Mooij, M. & Hofstede, G. (2002). Convergence and divergence in consumer behavior: Implications for international retailing. Journal of Retailing, 78, 61-69.
Lamb, C.W., Hair, J.F. & McDaniel, C. (2010). Marketing. Customer edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Vigneron, F. & Johnson, L.W. (1999). A review and a conceptual framework of prestige-seeking consumer behavior. Academy of Marketing Science Review, 1, 1-14.