I chose to use the segment of UF students.
The first person I interviewed said her choices and criteria
vary depending on what she buys. If it is something simple like batteries, she’s
going to buy the cheapest one. However, if she’s buying something important,
like headphones, she’s going to try as hard as she can to find a healthy medium
between price and quality. She said she only cares about style if it’s
something she is going to be wearing. She also told me that she almost never
pays with cash and always uses her debit card. As for where she buys from, she
will usually go to someplace nearby (she does not have a car at UF). The only online ordering she does is through
amazon prime. She is very careful with her money, so when I asked about post
purchase behavior she said she’s usual content with her purchase, and if she’s
unhappy with the product, she will try to return it or sell it. The second
person I interviewed, also a female UF student, was very similar to the first
person in her criteria, but she usually buys things online. She said unless it
was for immediate use or groceries, she buys almost all of her clothes,
accessories and electronics online and gets them delivered to her door. She
says she doesn’t think much about her post purchase behavior, and that if she doesn’t
like something she will just not use it or give it to someone else. The third
person, a male student, said he tries to find higher quality items, even if it
means paying a little more. His pasturage behavior is usually only noticeable
for larger purchases. He says he buys most of his things at Walmart if possible
and will only shop online for unique purchases.
After interviewing these three people, I realized that most
college kids try to find value in everyday items over quality and are more cognizant
of price. A lot of people (including myself) use amazon prime frequently, but
clothing purchases was where there was the most variety in response. Cost is
usually the most contemplated aspect of a purchase overall, followed by proximity/accessibility,
then finally quality.
This brings up an interesting argument over what people are willing to pay and how different it is in such a distinct and specific population, such as UF students. The interviews seemed to bring a lot of good feedback on the alternatives with plenty of detail of what they were willing to pay for items. While one person was very careful with how they spent their money, others aren't as frugal and would be willing to pay more for a better product. It raises the question if it's better to target the frugal consumers by convincing them its a great value or target the big spenders by convincing them its the best quality on the market.
ReplyDeleteHey Megan, nice post. You got a lot of good information from the interviews, but that is interesting how your market is split on how they how they buy and their post purchase behavior. I use amazon quite a lot, but only for more expensive items, because usually I can find a better deal on there then in the store.
ReplyDeleteHi Megan! I can see why students are more concerned about money. I understand that and i also try to not to buy a lot of new clothes and when i do i go to the sale items. I feel like if you were to ask for example graduate students you would get a different response though. They all need to wear nice clothes because either theyre working or will work soon and maybe they would spend a little more to get better quality.
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