What’s the difference between buying breakfast cereal and shopping for a TV?  Back in the day, an economist would have said there’s no difference; individuals always make rational decisions based upon preexisting preferences.  But that’s crazy—of course there’s a difference.  People purchasing cereal are usually making a regular, frequent purchase.  They know what they want (whole grain, no added sugar, no store brand, etc.), and their selections are informed by those preferences.  Buying a TV is a different kettle of fish.  The typical TV buyer hasn’t bought one in about four years.  In that time the category will have changed dramatically—new technologies, new features, new usage occasions, etc.  So TV shoppers generally feel confused and overwhelmed—they really don’t know what they’re looking for, or even what’s important to them.  As a qualitative researcher, I’ve noticed that this creates a much more complicated—messy, even—decision-making process.  Researchers and marketers must take these factors into accounts when conducting research and creating marketing strategies.

In essence these two processes are driven by what I call preference constructivity.  (To be honest, I’m not sure ‘constructivity’ is actually a word, but I use it anyway.)  The idea is that there are two types of decision-making processes: one in which the person making the decision has established, well-defined preferences, and one in which no such preferences exist to guide a decision.  The second one is called a constructive choice, because the individual has to construct his or her preferences while trying to also make a decision, while the first one is (obviously) called a nonconstructive choice.  Clearly, constructive choices are much more difficult and complicated than nonconstructive ones.

And, out of this comes one of my favorite analytical tools: constructive and nonconstructive mindsets.  Whenever I’m conducting research into consumer decision-making, one factor I’m always sure to probe is whether the research participants have well-defined preferences that can facilitate the process.  Sometimes this question is easily asked … “what’s important to you here?”  “What are the specific features and characteristics you’re looking for?”, but it can be tricky, as people aren’t always willing to admit their ignorance (think of a 20-year-old man in a car showroom).  So, I often find that I have to determine the existence of preferences through observation rather than through conversation.  That’s why I consider it a good practice to build into most research studies that seek to understand things like decision-making and the path to purchase methodological tools that allow us to observe shopping behavior.  This can be done via ethnographic approaches (immersing yourself in a shopping environment and watching how people shop), by conducting shop along research in which participants have an opportunity to shop on their own, and with usability labs that allow the researcher to observe and record online shopping behavior.

Determining the shopper’s mindset is crucial to understanding their behavior and to developing strategies and tactics that will be effective.  For instance, if shoppers are in a nonconstructive mindset, and know exactly what they’re looking for, it makes sense for the purchase process to be as linear and simple as possible.  But when shoppers are struggling to understand their options and are trying to figure out what their preferences are, resources that can easily inform them of key product features and capabilities and the benefits that accrue from them may be essential to converting a shopper to a purchaser.