Figuring out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Interview 1:

This interview was with a student who lives off-campus and walks to class every day. She said her first thought when buying a product is price. She takes out loans for her entire college tuition (out of state) and works part time to have money for any expenses she has. Because of this, budgeting is extremely important to her. When she buys stuff it's only because she really needs it. She will look at how much money she can spend and then find products that fit within that range. From here, she tries to find the product that's within her price range and has overall the best reviews. She wants something that is durable so she won't have to replace it soon. She typically only spends cash because she finds it easier to budget herself that way. She withdraws her monthly allowance of spending money in cash and when she runs out, she is done spending money that month. Since she tries to only use cash, she prefers to go in person to buy things. If she can't find it in person she will buy it online however. She evaluates her purchases by how long and well they work. If a product breaks quickly and she has to spend more money to replace it, she won't buy it again. If something works really well and lasts her a long time she'll repurchase it. 

Interview 2:

I interviewed another off-campus student who is friends with my first interviewee. I chose to interview her because they are in the same market, however, they have very different purchasing habits. This student starts by looking for the highest quality product when looking to buy something. She is a firm believer in quality over quantity and would rather pay a premium price for something she knows was made well. She also likes to purchase things that have a positive social impact, whether it is an equal donation that's made, it was made through fair trade and labor, or some other positive externality for society. Due to her high standards she expects, she typically buys most things online or at farmers markets. By shopping online she can find products she needs and make sure that they're sourced well or good for society. Since most stores in person don't offer this type of information, she prefers online. Since she's buying online she uses her debit card for nearly every purchase. After receiving a product, if it lasts and is truly of the quality she expected she will be pleased with it. She expects her products to last and work very well since she typically pays a premium for them. If not, she is very disappointed and will not buy from that company again.

Interview 3: 

This interview was with a freshman who lives on campus. This student goes first to convenience when looking for a new item. He does not care if it's the best possible product or if it's necessarily the cheapest. He cares more about how quickly and easily he can get it. He typically waits until he really needs something before going out to buy it, so he never has time to wait for it. Because of this, he doesn't do much online shopping. He prefers to go to the Walmart or Target since they have almost anything he could need all in one place. This way he can drive over, get what he needs, and be home with his new items all in one day. He also doesn't like how receiving packages works in dorms. He doesn't carry cash because he "has a tendency to misplace it" and finds he is much better about his stuff when it's just one credit card to keep track of, rather than lots of bills. When he gets a product unless there's something about it that's really noticeably bad and unpleasant he doesn't usually have an issue buying it again. He understands if products aren't perfect because he never does much research before buying it and can't expect too much.

Conclusion:

My market is extremely broad and as such there's a wide array of customer types and attitudes. I think a general consensus would be convenience and price. My second interview definitely implies quality is also important, however, from my general knowledge of the rest of my customer base I think that she would be considered an outlier. This market does little evaluation of options beyond convenience and price point. Because of this, their post-purchase behaviors are not extravagant.