Another study performed by Newman and Werbel revealed that as decision making becomes more routinized for consumers, information from informal sources such as friends and family, decreases. At the same time, the amount of time for considering alternatives decreased. Habit and the Consumer Purchasing by habit provides two important benefits to the consumer. Habit is a way of reducing risk when involvement is high. Buying a well-known brand time and again reduces the risk of product failure and financial loss.
Several studies show brand loyalty as a way of reducing risk.
One study in particular performed by Sheth and Venkatesan, questioned consumers on various means used to reduce purchase risk. The most frequent answers received were brand loyalty and buying a well known brand. Habit also makes shopping easier by minimizing the need for information search. Most consumers seek to minimize search behavior because of the time and energy involved. The functional nature of habit is best illustrated in supermarket shopping.