the optimum marketing mix of product, price,
place, and promotion. The policies are monitored
carefully in relation to changing retail patterns,
economic conditions, and the buying motives of
target customers.
Understanding Buying
Motives
Purchasing behavior is the way consumers
act in the market. It is infl uenced by cultural,
social, and psychological factors. To set it into
action, consumers must have a want or need
to be satisfi ed, and a desire to fulfi ll that want
or need in a certain way. The response is a
purchase based on buying motives, or the
reasons why people buy what they buy.
Buying motives fall within the extremes
of rational and emotional responses. Rational
behavior is a response to conscious reasoning. It
is based on logical thinking and decision making.
Important factors in a rational decision might be
a garment’s durability, comfort, quality, economy
of use, and price. See 13-3. A totally rational
consumer will evaluate effective use of resources
according to
how badly an item is needed
how often it will be worn
how long it will last
its quality for the price
its affordability in relation to other wants
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Emotional behavior is based on feelings.
A consumer who reacts emotionally will see
a fashionable item in a favorite color and buy
it just because he or she likes it. See 13-4.
Factors contributing to an emotional decision
include imitation, emulation, desire for status and
prestige, sex appeal, desire for distinctiveness,
ambition, fear, and personal pride. Consumers
are generally unaware of the role these factors
play in their choices.
Sometimes consumers have rational reasons
for patronizing certain retailers. They may shop
where they know they are getting the best price.
Other consumers have emotional reasons for
preferring particular retailers. Perhaps they get
an ego boost from shopping in a store that has
a prestigious reputation. Most purchases fall
somewhere between the two extremes of rational
and emotional behavior, as shown in 13-5. Some
of each type of behavior is combined in varying
degrees for different people, at different times,
and for different products. However, fashion
purchases usually involve higher amounts of
emotional motives than rational ones. Thus,
fashion marketers most often appeal to emotional
buying motives in their advertising, visual
merchandising, and sales training.
There are also product and patronage
motives involved in consumer purchases.
Product motives involve consumer purchases
based on qualities or images of certain products.
These product qualities might be materials,
construction, style, fi t, or guarantees associated
13-3 Consumers might use rational
behavior to pick this shirt because of its
quality and price.
13-4 As shoppers walk past this retail
display, they might be emotionally drawn
to the textures and designer names on the
handbags and other accessories displayed.
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