Abstract:

This paper expands on recent findings from cognitive psychology and related disciplines and argues that market researchers need to move their emphasis from understanding consumer perceptions and generalized motivations to a much more specific understanding of the mental processes utilized by consumers to process information. A model of consumer information processing is proposed and it is argued that this model provides insight into why consumer's feelings about brands are often difficult to relate to actual in-store behaviour. The author draws on data from ACNielsen qualitative and brand equity research to support the hypotheses presented and it is further suggested that the findings have major implications for marketers in terms of making more actionable marketing decisions that are more specifically related to how and when consumers make choices.