Let's explore what the Consumer Decision Process is by examining a recent purchase of workout sneakers that you have made. This should be a purchase that involved (in some detail) each of the five stages. This means it's a past purchase (because you need to reflect on the last stage; Postpurchase). Organize this part of your post using these specific headings:

a) Problem Recognition

b) Information Search

c) Alternative Evaluation

d) Purchase

e) Postpurchase

Within each heading take us through this single purchase experience. USE CONCEPTS from the readings (placing the concepts in bold), to describe some of your observations. Here are some required concepts that should be used for each of the above:

Problem Recognition: What is the Desired State? What is the Actual State? (use brands to describe these states). Identify the major motive/need that is underlying this purchase.

Information Search: Did you conduct Internal Search? External Search? or both? Identify and give examples of the type of search to support.

Alternative Evaluation: What evaluative criteria for the purchase did you identify? Was there a difference between Salient and Determinant attributes? What brands existed in your Evoked Set?

Purchase: In the readings there were considerations and influences for the purchase stage. Identify the ones that influenced your choice of how to buy the product. More specifically, identify the Purchase Risks (barriers) that may have been faced just before purchase. Purchase Risks can be Functional, Financial (price), Social, Psychological, Temporal or Linked Decision.

Postpurchase: Are you satisfied? Ideally, the Actual State and Desired State put forth in Problem Recognition should come together (hope becomes reality). In other words, did this purchase solve all your needs AND did the product/brand live up to it's promises. Last, did you suffer any Cognitive Dissonance (Buyer's Remorse)?