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Reading: Influences on Consumer Decisions

What, Exactly, Influences a Purchasing Decision?

While the decision-making process itself appears standardized, no two people make a purchase decision in exactly the same way. People bring with them unique beliefs, experiences, and behavioural tendencies—some controllable, some far beyond their control. How these factors interact ensures that each of us is unique in our consumer actions and choices.

Although it isn’t feasible for marketers to respond to the highly complex profiles of every individual consumer, it is possible to identify a set of common factors that influence most consumers in predictable ways. These factors help marketers anticipate behaviour and design marketing strategies that resonate with broad groups of people.

For example, families with young children in Canada may prioritize quick service and affordability when choosing a restaurant, while single professionals may place more emphasis on atmosphere and menu variety. Likewise, a first-time car buyer will approach the decision differently than a consumer with decades of experience purchasing vehicles. Understanding these influencing factors allows marketers to more accurately interpret consumer behaviour and adapt their strategies.

We can group these influences into four broad categories, illustrated below. Each will be discussed in detail in the following sections:

  • Situational Factors – Conditions tied to the specific buying task and marketplace context (e.g., time pressure, physical environment, availability).

  • Personal Factors – Individual characteristics such as age, life stage, income, lifestyle, and personality.

  • Psychological Factors – Internal influences including motivation, perception, learning, attitudes, and beliefs.

  • Social Factors – External influences from culture, subculture, social class, family, and reference groups.

Together, these four sets of factors explain much of the why behind consumer choices.

Factors Influencing Consumer Decisions. Three levels in image from top to bottom: the factors influencing consumer decisions, the consumer, and the consumer making process. The four main factors influencing consumer decisions at the top are as follows: Situational Factors, Personal Factors, Psychological Factors, and Social Factors. Bulleted list underneath Situational Factors consists of two items: Buying Task, Market offerings. Bulleted list underneath Personal Factors consisting of four items: Demographics, Life stage, Lifestyle, and Personality. Bulleted list underneath psychological factors consists of three items: Motivation, Learning, and Attitudes and Beliefs. Bulleted list underneath Social Factors consists of four items: Culture / subculture, Social Class, Family, and Reference Groups. The five steps in the consumer decision making process listed at the bottom of the graphic are as follows: 1: Need Recognition, 2: Information Searching and Processing, 3: Identification and Evaluation of Alternatives, 4: Purchase Decision, and 5: Post-Purchase Behavior.

Creation note: This content was updated with the assistance of ChatGPT, a language model developed by OpenAI, and was subsequently reviewed and edited by the author for clarity and accuracy.

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Introduction to Marketing I 3e Copyright © 2025 by Nova Scotia Community College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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