Motivation derives from the word ‘motive’, which means needs, desires, wants or drives within the individuals. It is the process of stimulating people to actions to accomplish the goals. Customers of Amazon fall under the category of motivational strength; the pull it exerts on the consumer, opposed to motivational direction which is the particular way the consumer attempts to reduce motivational tension.

Human behavior is goal-directed. Motivation cause goal-directed behaviour. It is through motivation that needs can be handled and tackled purposely. Amazon’s customers develop new wants and needs due to determinant attributes and the dynamic nature of motivation. Some of these determinants include personal characteristics, technology and climate. This can be understood by understanding the hierarchy of needs. Here’s an example of Amazon motivating viewers. 

Consumers will purchase products depending on their level of need. There are five states of needs in Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Model;
Physiological needs – basic needs (food, clothing, shelter)
Safety needs – job security, protection against danger, safety of property
Social needs – love, affection, belongingness
Esteem needs – self-respect, recognition and respect from others
Self-actualisation needs – self-fulfilment, enriching experiences, hobbies

Amazon customers often come across motivation conflicts. The most common being approach-approach conflict as there is often too wide a variety of similar products that it makes it difficult for the customer to choose.

Why do consumers consistently choose Amazon as their ‘go-to’ store for purchases ranging from household basics to expensive, planned purchases? According to MarketingCharts, a survey conducted on almost 4000 people shows that 64% of people chose price as their leading motivation to shop at Amazon. That is a very large percentage of the surveyed people, and goes to show that Amazon is building an extremely successful and low-cost business which in return, allows customers to purchase products at cheaper prices and come back again and again. Free shipping was the second biggest reason on 60%, convenience on 52%, and 47% for the fact that Amazon is a one shop store – you go into the store or website with the feasibility of being able to buy everything you need in one place. Consumers also enjoy believing that they have control, freedom and fun when shopping online as they are making selective choices about what business to purchase from, when they purchase, what they purchase and why they purchase.

Bibliography

Solomon, R, Russell-Bennett, R & Previte, J 2019, ‘Consumer behaviour: buying, having, being’, 4th edn, Pearson Australia, VIC.

Marketing Charts. (2019). Here’s Why People Shop on Amazon – And Why They’d Shop Elsewhere Too – Marketing Charts,https://www.marketingcharts.com/industries/retail-and-e-commerce-82536 [Accessed 3 May 2019].

Managementstudyguide.com. (2019). What is Motivation, https://www.managementstudyguide.com/what_is_motivation.htm [Accessed 4 May 2019].

Wolfinbarger, M. and Gilly, M. (2001). Shopping Online for Freedom, Control, and Fun. California Management Review, 43(2), pp.34-55.

Stimulus generalisation is the process that occurs when the behaviour caused by a reaction to one stimulus transfers to a similar stimulus. Family branding falls under the concept of stimulus generalisation in which is a process in which occurs when the behaviour from a stimulus is transferred to another similar stimulus. The learning process, which relates to classical conditioning theory, refers to any change in the content or organisation of long-term memory. Learning results from information processing and causes changes in memory. 

Many consumers shop online for various products and reasons, and during their time, they are often likely to have viewed ads for, or products of Amazon’s brand. This often includes products from brands that Amazon owns, sells or sponsors.This is because Amazon has incorporated the use of family branding in order to market these products to their consumers. 

Family branding occurs when a current products brand name is applied to another product that is new to the market. Through this the previous experience of consumers can influence the consumers behaviour towards this product.

Factors that affect the success of family branding include product orientation, price competitiveness, and product classes. 

Some of the many family brands that Amazon owns include AmazonFresh, Wickedly Prime (an exclusive brand only available to Amazon Prime members in the US, Amazon Elements and AmazonBasics. 

As mentioned earlier, Amazon’s vast range of products are spread throughout the internet and are communicated to customers through mediums mostly consisting of advertisements. Their advertisements often aim to display the featured product as very price competitive, of quality material and easily accessible. The Process of stimulus generalisation is often central to branding and packaging decisions that attempt to capitalise on consumers’ positive associations with an existing brand or company name. 

Amazon succeeds in this area as a vast majority of their products have extensive reviews, most of which are positive. This not only shows that consumers are coming back to buy more, but that their positive review of said product is proving to be advantageous to other customers as people often trust, and in some cases rely, on the ratings and comments from other purchasers. This therefore makes first time consumers more inclined to trust other products from Amazon to bring them a repeated positive experience over other brands.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Luiz Moutinho, (1987) “Consumer Behaviour in Tourism”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 21 Issue: 10, pp.5-44

En.wikipedia.org. (2019). List of Amazon brands, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Amazon_brands, Accessed 8 Apr. 2019

Solomon, R, Russell-Bennett, R & Previte, J 2019, ‘Consumer behaviour: buying, having, being’, 4th edn, Pearson Australia, VIC.

Neuhaus, CF & Taylor, JR 1972, ‘Variables Affecting Sales of Family-Branded’, Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 419-422.

Sellryt Blog. (2019). Amazon Sponsored Ads vs Headline ad: Which Ad type is best for Sellers?, https://www.sellryt.com/blog/amazon-sponsored-ads/, Accessed 8 Apr. 2019

Each day, consumers have to make decisions about day to day activities from basics such as what to eat or to more important choices such as purchasing products. Zin each decision making process, there are 5 steps. 

Decision making involves many criteria and subcriteria used to rank the alternatives of a decision. There are three levels of consumer decision making, including extensive problem solving, limited problem solving and routinised-response behaviour. When consumers shop on Amazon, there are several perceived risks they have to consider. These include functional, physical, financial, social, psychological and time risks. For example, a customer buying a TV off Amazon mostly combats with functional, financial and social risks according to Brigitte Burgesse’s 2003 journal article, ‘A comparison of TV home shoppers based on risk perception’. 

Need Recognition – This is where consumers develop a need or want for a product or service that needs to be satisfied. This is often associated as the first and most important step in the process because if we as consumers don’t recognise a need or want, we generally won’t consider purchasing a product.

Information Search – stage in the consumer decision process during which a consumer searches for internal or external information. An internal search refers to a consumer’s memory or recollection of a product, and is often triggered or guided by personal experience. On the other hand, an external search is where a person has no prior knowledge about a product or service and and seeks information through personal and public sources including; family, online forums). 

Evaluation – in this stage, consumers evaluate all the available products on a scale of particular features. What’s important to marketers in this stage is to increase the likelihood of their brand becoming part of consumers’ evoked sets and to do this, they need to understand what benefits consumers are searching for, and to find which features  will affect a consumer’s choice most. 

Purchase – During this stage, the consumer may develop an intention to buy the most preferred brand, service or product. There are three important factors to the purchasing stage, being the decision one must make about who they will buy from, when they’ll buy the product, and whether to buy it or not. 

Post Purchase Evaluation – In this final step, the customer assesses whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied with a purchase. How the customer feels about a purchase will significantly influence whether or not they will purchase the product again or consider other products. Cognitive dissonance is an effect of making a purchase. It is when the customer experiences feelings of post-purchase psychological tension or anxiety.

For example, I noticed myself undergoing the decision making process recently. My study chair is quite old and squeaky so I thought it was time to upgrade. This was me realising that I had a problem, a want, that I needed to satisfy. I then started researching chair prices on websites such as Officeworks and relevant competitors and comparing the pros and cons to the varying styles – price, appearance, material, functionality. I am undergoing the information search step here. I discovered, through evaluation of alternatives, that all the products had similar features but officeworks turned out to be the cheapest, at around $200. After evaluating the options, I decided to make a purchase with Officeworks as it would be better off for me because it was cheaper, they offered delivery and assembly with the chair. I am very much satisfied with my purchase and believe that the chair I chose will serve me well – post purchase evaluation. 

Bibliography

Brigitte Burgess, (2003) “A comparison of TV home shoppers based on risk perception”, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, Vol. 7 Issue: 3, pp.259-271

Saaty, T.L. (1994) ‘How to make a decision: the analytic hierarchy process’, Interfaces, Vol. 24, No. 6, pp.19–43

MR, Solomon, R, Russell-Bennett & J, Previte (eds), Consumer Behaviour, Pearson, Australia, 2019, pp. 298-304.

Courses.lumenlearning.com. (2019). The Consumer Decision Process | Boundless Marketing, https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-marketing/chapter/the-consumer-decision-process/, Accessed 24 Mar. 2019

Officeworks.com.au. (2019). Office Chairs | Officeworks, https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/c/furniture/office-chairs-seating/office-chairs, Accessed 23 Mar. 2019