II I. Consumer Behavior a. The study of consumer behavior is at the heart of successful marketing.
Successful marketing begins with understanding why and how consumers behave as they do.
Consumer behavior can be defined as actions a person takes in purchasing and using products and services, including the mental and social processes that precede and follow these actions. This definition indicates that consumer behavior not only involves the specific actions taken by individuals when buying and using products and services, but all the social and psychological factors that affect these actions. Consumer Purchase Decision Process a. The definition of consumer behavior emphasizes that a decision process underlies the visible act of making a purchase. The purchase decision process is the series of steps or stages a consumer passes through in making choices about which products and services to buy.