Today’s society is earmarked by developments in technology so drastic, that our lives are continuously changed, impacted and remolded. When thinking about how many impressions one goes through during a single day, the results will be uncountable. And at an increasing pace, many of these impressions are shifting to the digital realm. This thesis acknowledges these rapid changes in the modern world of marketing, particularly the digital aspects of it. Yet while a great amount of research has been conducted to more closely understand digital marketing and how to conduct it, a significantly little amount of research has been spent focusing on the customer. This while the path that a customer takes from need to purchase may have grown to be more complex than ever. Not all the impressions that a customer gains on a certain product or brand come solely from the company behind it. As such, we decided to focus on exploring this customer journey – a relatively nascent theme in the field of marketing research. More specifically, we aim to answer the following research question: How is the customer purchasing decision affected by the customer’s interaction with touch points throughout the customer journey? Our main purpose was to arrive at a model as an answer to the research question, that could be used as a foundation for future research studies. We were intensely curious at gaining a better understanding of the customer journey and what the customers experience as they are touched by different influential channels during their travel from need to purchase. Our study shows that it is possible to synthesize the state of current research on the topic of the customer journey and support it with empirical data gathered from interviews with a variety of customers. Central to our thesis are the following two definitions that we have constructed based on current literature: The customer journey is the individual experience that a customer has when interacting with touch points in the path from a pre-purchase to a post-purchase setting. Touch points are moments of contact between customer and company that individually and collectively influence customer experience. The third critical element is that of the customer experience, which we don’t explicitly define, but implicitly construe as a distinct construct with a powerful impact by serving as the catalyst between touch points and customer actions and perceptions.The result is a conceptual model of the customer journey that we feel could be a foundation for future research on the customer journey to build upon and perhaps one day could serve as an overarching model for marketing as a whole.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T16:45:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Priscila Tereza de Nadai Sastre.pdf: 1178894 bytes, checksum: ed98b9cd97b43099710583ece05a7d5d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-05-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This dissertation had as its general objective to know what types of influence of the reference group relies upon an individual, in his purchase decision process of sports utilitarian vehicles (SUV). The purchase process was assumed as social experiences that individuals make every day and the purchase of products and services is mediated by interpersonal influences. In the marketing field, the relationship between the individual s purchase decision process and the influences received by his social environment has been targeted by relevant discussions in the academic arena, as well as in the corporate world. The theoretical background describes the main constructs of the individual purchase decision process and reference group influence (interpersonal influence), from the American perspective. The justification for this study relies upon the Marketing Science Institute (MSI) priority studies, for the 2006-2008 period. These priorities were formed from research made with the MSI sponsors, who identified the role of social network in the purchase decision process as a priority study in the academic and corporate fields. The methodology approach is the case study method since the investigations aims to explore contemporaneous phenomena from the real life. Among the SUV sellers, in the Brazilian market, Troller, the Ford Motors SUVs subdivision was the one chosen to conduct this research. The data collection started with documents and secondary data of public domain. The empirical verification was supported by self-applied structured questionnaires, distributed electronically for Troller s clients. The results point that the reference group has a significant influence in the Troller s purchase decision process. The informational influence was the main type of influence observed / Esta dissertação teve como objetivo geral conhecer quais os tipos de influência que o grupo de referência exerce sobre o indivíduo, em seu processo decisório de compra de veículos utilitários esportivos ou, simplesmente, jipes 4x4. Partiu-se do princípio que as relações de troca comerciais são tidas como experiências sociais que os indivíduos realizam, normalmente, todos os dias e que o consumo de produtos e serviços é, em grande parte, moldado pela influência de outros indivíduos neste processo. No Marketing, a relação processo de decisão de compra do indivíduo e a influência recebida por parte de seu contexto social tem sido alvo de relevantes discussões tanto no âmbito acadêmico, quanto no âmbito empresarial. O construto teórico foi desenvolvido tendo-se por base as fundamentações relativas ao comportamento do consumidor, especificamente, o processo decisório de compra e a influência do grupo de referência. Atuaram como eixo conceitual os estudos preconizados pela escola americana. A justificativa para este estudo reside nas prioridades de pesquisa do Marketing Science Institute (MSI), para o biênio 2006-2008. Tais prioridades, por sua vez, estão alicerçadas em pesquisas realizadas juntamente às organizações patrocinadoras do próprio MSI (instituições acadêmicas dos Estados Unidos e corporações globais) que identificaram o estudo do papel da rede social no processo de decisão de compra, como uma das primazias de pesquisa nas instâncias acadêmica e empresarial. Decidiu-se por realizar um estudo de caso, dadas as particularidades do fenômeno em estudo e as características exploratórias determinantes da investigação, uma vez que foram estudados fenômenos contemporâneos inseridos na vida real. Dentre as montadoras fabricantes de jipes 4x4, no mercado nacional, a Troller, divisão de 4x4 pertencente à Ford Motors, foi a empresa escolhida para o desenvolvimento do estudo de caso. A coleta de informações para a realização do estudo de caso foi realizada a partir do levantamento documental de dados secundários de domínio público e da própria empresa. A verificação empírica se deu por meio de questionários estruturados e auto-aplicáveis que foram distribuídos, eletronicamente, a uma base de 2000 clientes, da Troller. A observação participante também se fez presente por meio da participação na Copa Troller, na temporada de 2008. O que se concluiu é que, de fato, há considerável influência dos grupos de referência, na decisão de compra dos consumidores dos jipes Troller. A principal forma de influência observada foi a influência informacional, seguida da influência utilitária e, por fim, a influência expressiva de valor

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo principal descrever o processo decisório de compra de maçã na cidade de Porto Alegre - RS, buscando aprofundar o conhecimento acerca dos fatores que influenciam a decisão de compra da fruta pelo último elo da cadeia produtiva: o consumidor final. Para a efetiva condução deste trabalho, o processo metodológico apresentou uma pesquisa exploratória, realizada em uma fase qualitativa, em que foram apontados os indicadores relacionados à tomada de decisão de compra do produto, baseados em material pré-existente sobre o tema, e entrevistas de caráter exploratório com especialistas e com consumidores de maçã; e outra fase quantitativa, momento no qual foi aplicado o instrumento de coleta ao público-alvo. Após compreender a situação atual da cadeia produtiva da fruta e concluir a aplicação dos questionários, os dados foram analisados e interpretados através do software estatístico SPSS Versão 16. Os resultados observados possibilitam a compreensão acerca do processo decisório de compra de maçã na cidade de Porto Alegre – RS, e demonstram que os aspectos que motivam o consumo da fruta estão relacionados ao apelo à saúde, sendo que o principal fator decisório no momento da compra está vinculado à qualidade da aparência estética do produto, e que o fator preço não interfere no aumento ou redução do consumo. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-05-13T12:37:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Bianca Rockenbach.pdf: 1812003 bytes, checksum: a7cb2853e6f86a2b450f463dd64a39a0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-13T12:37:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Bianca Rockenbach.pdf: 1812003 bytes, checksum: a7cb2853e6f86a2b450f463dd64a39a0 (MD5) / This study aimed to describe the decision making process of buying apple in Porto Alegre - RS, seeking to deepen the knowledge about the factors that influence the decision to buy fruit at last link in the supply chain of Apple: the end consumer. For the effective conduct of this study, the methodological process presented an exploratory study, conducted in a qualitative phase, which were expressed in the indicators related to decision-making product purchase based on pre-existing material on the topic, and exploratory interviews with experts and consumers with apple , and other quantitative phase, at which time the instrument was used to collect the target audience. After understanding the current status of the production chain of fruit and completing the questionnaires, the data were analyzed and interpreted using the statistical software SPSS Version 16. Results observed to enable understanding of the decision making process of buying apple in Porto Alegre - RS, and demonstrate that the aspects that motivate consumption of fruit are related to appeal to health, and the main decision factor when buying is linked to the quality of the aesthetic appearance of the product, and the price did not interfere with the increase or decrease in consumption.

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo principal descrever o processo decisório de compra de maçã na cidade de Porto Alegre - RS, buscando aprofundar o conhecimento acerca dos fatores que influenciam a decisão de compra da fruta pelo último elo da cadeia produtiva: o consumidor final. Para a efetiva condução deste trabalho, o processo metodológico apresentou uma pesquisa exploratória, realizada em uma fase qualitativa, em que foram apontados os indicadores relacionados à tomada de decisão de compra do produto, baseados em material pré-existente sobre o tema, e entrevistas de caráter exploratório com especialistas e com consumidores de maçã; e outra fase quantitativa, momento no qual foi aplicado o instrumento de coleta ao público-alvo. Após compreender a situação atual da cadeia produtiva da fruta e concluir a aplicação dos questionários, os dados foram analisados e interpretados através do software estatístico SPSS Versão 16. Os resultados observados possibilitam a compreensão acerca do processo decisório de compra de maçã na cidade de Porto Alegre – RS, e demonstram que os aspectos que motivam o consumo da fruta estão relacionados ao apelo à saúde, sendo que o principal fator decisório no momento da compra está vinculado à qualidade da aparência estética do produto, e que o fator preço não interfere no aumento ou redução do consumo. / This study aimed to describe the decision making process of buying apple in Porto Alegre - RS, seeking to deepen the knowledge about the factors that influence the decision to buy fruit at last link in the supply chain of Apple: the end consumer. For the effective conduct of this study, the methodological process presented an exploratory study, conducted in a qualitative phase, which were expressed in the indicators related to decision-making product purchase based on pre-existing material on the topic, and exploratory interviews with experts and consumers with apple , and other quantitative phase, at which time the instrument was used to collect the target audience. After understanding the current status of the production chain of fruit and completing the questionnaires, the data were analyzed and interpreted using the statistical software SPSS Version 16. Results observed to enable understanding of the decision making process of buying apple in Porto Alegre - RS, and demonstrate that the aspects that motivate consumption of fruit are related to appeal to health, and the main decision factor when buying is linked to the quality of the aesthetic appearance of the product, and the price did not interfere with the increase or decrease in consumption.

This thesis deals with the purchase behavior and habits of consumers in the retail chain COOP, particularly cooperative COOP Hořovice. The work consists of two main parts -- theoretical and practical. The theoretical part solves the issue of purchase behavior of consumer and the factors that influence on consumer during all phases of their purcasing decisions, from a general perspective. Regarding the solving issue work also provides information about private labels, which are typical for retail. Furthermore it includes basic knowledge of marketing research and its phases. The practical part is beginning with important data about the cooperative COOP Hoovice (history, basic information, offered services and private labels). Recommendations for improvements are based on the course of research and its results interpretation.

Influencer marketing is a new marketing strategy that has risen in popularity to be used by businesses during the last decade. Even though studies have been previously made on influencer marketing, little research has been made specifically on influencer marketing in combination with their discount codes being offered. The main purpose of this research paper is to examine the connection between the discount codes and the effect it might have on consumers' purchase intention, behavior and impulsive buying. Furthermore, the satisfactory levels after a purchase due to influencer marketing has been examined as it has not been seen in previous studies. The findings revealed that consumers are directly affected by influencer discount codes, causing impulsive buying to a certain level and affects the purchase intentions and decision-making in a faster manner. Furthermore, consumers who had purchased products due to influencer marketing obtained a high satisfactory level post-purchase. The same result could be seen both with and without discount codes. These results contribute to a positive insight of influencer marketing for businesses as the majority of the consumers were satisfied with their purchases. The research paper is written in english.

Digitaliseringen och dess teknologiska utveckling har gett upphov till nya digitala lösningar, däribland AR (Augmented Reality) är ett av de digitala verktyg som under de senaste åren fått en ökad uppmärksamhet bland både chefer och forskare. Augmented reality är ett virtuellt verktyg vars innehåll integreras i en användares uppfattning om den verkliga världen. Tidigare forskning har riktat en stor del av sitt fokus på AR och dess implementering som marknadsföringsstrategi, inom främst möbel- och accessoarindustrin, där modebranschen däremot inte givits samma typ av uppmärksamhet. Detta påpekar även forskarna själva, och som menar att det på grund av detta kan medföra en stor risk då konsumenters möjlighet att prova och interagera med produkten innan köp, därmed begränsas. Forskning kring att undersöka och förklara den psykologiska mekanismen bakom konsumenters mentala process gentemot virtuell provning, är även det begränsat inom modebranschen. Denna studie syftar därav till att utveckla en vidare förståelse kring vilken typ av effekt, AR genom virtuell klädprovning kan ha, dels på konsumentens upplevelse dels på dess köpbeslutsprocess.  För denna studie har en kvalitativ metod implementerats där datainsamlingen skett genom tolv utförda semistrukturerade intervjuer, på informanter i åldrarna 18-30 år. Det studien kom fram till var att AR implementerat på virtuell klädprovning, visat sig ge en positiv effekt på majoriteten av informanternas upplevelse och köpbeslutsprocess. / Digitization and its technological development have given rise to new digital solutions, among which AR (Augmented Reality) is one of the digital tools that in recent years has received increased attention among both managers and researchers. Augmented reality is a virtual tool whose content is integrated into a user's perception of the real world. Previous research has directed a large part of its focus on AR and its implementation as a marketing strategy, mainly within the furniture and accessories industry, where the fashion industry, on the other hand, has not been given the same kind of attention. This is also pointed out by the researchers themselves, who believe that because of this, it can entail a great risk as consumers' opportunity to try and interact with the product before purchase is thus limited. Research into investigating and explaining the psychological mechanism behind consumers' mental process towards virtual fitting is also limited within the fashion industry. This study therefore aims to develop a wider understanding of what kind of effect AR through virtual clothing fitting can have, partly on the consumer's experience and partly on their purchase decision process. For this study, a qualitative method has been implemented where the data collection took place through twelve conducted semi-structured interviews, on participants between the ages of 18-30 years. What the study concluded was that AR implemented on virtual clothing fitting, proved to have a positive effect on the majority of the participants' experience and purchase decision process.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to gain a deeper understanding of how Generation X perceive that their purchase decisions are influenced by their use of social media. Method: The study is based on a qualitative research strategy. A semi structured interview was applied. The semi structured interview was conducted with ten respondents who were aged between 40–60 years and utilizes social media.  Theory: This study contains the following theories: The purchase decision process and eWOM.   Empirics/analysis:  The result incorporates a summary of the processed data that forms the basis for the ongoing analysis. Conclusion: This study sheds light on the intricate process of purchase decision-making among Generation X consumers on social media. In the realm of needs identification, the majority of participants discovered new needs through social media advertisements, while a smaller fraction did not associate need discovery with ads. The significance of information search on social media emerged, with participants perceiving it as a tool to gather relevant information for planned purchases. External information-seeking involved personal, commercial, and public sources.   The study uncovered that respondents react to both positive and negative reviews on social media, influencing their product and service evaluations. Nevertheless, varying levels of trust exist for social media reviews, with some participants dismissing them due to perceived bias and unreliability. Positive electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM), especially from reviewers with substantial followers, enhances the likelihood of purchase decisions for half of the respondents. Conversely, negative reviews, particularly those highlighting issues like shipping costs or customer service, can negatively impact purchase decisions. The credibility of eWOM influences respondents' willingness to adopt or dismiss information in their purchasing process. Negative consumer confidence may lead some respondents to refrain from making purchases. Credibility is attributed to reviewers with a significant following, while anonymous reviewers are perceived as less credible. Comprehensive and detailed reviews, offering nuanced insights and solutions, enhance credibility. Respondents' prior experiences and internet literacy affect their trust in online reviews, and those encountering fake reviews may exhibit more skepticism. In the evaluation of alternatives, consumers emphasize the importance of both price and quality, with social media significantly impacting pricing and product comparisons. Within the category of purchase decisions, the study found that even after consumers make a decision, unexpected situations can lead to changes, such as negative reviews, social factors, and unforeseen circumstances like price changes or sudden shifts in needs. This underlines the dynamic nature of Generation X's purchase decision-making, demonstrating the continued influence of external factors even post-decision

隨著經濟成長，高度競爭的生活環境造成人們睡眠品質不佳或失眠，多半是深受入睡困難、淺眠和早醒等困擾。因此，對於現代人逐漸願意投資在寢具和床墊產品只求一夜好眠。 床墊是為耐久財，生命週期長且消費者感知風險高，因此大多消費者在購買前會先進行相關資訊蒐集。網路的普及使得商品資訊在網路上公開，使得網路成為消費者購物前蒐集資訊的主要管道。而隨著web2.0的興起，消費者在網路上分享產品資訊的網路口碑有了爆炸性的增加，產生了讓廠商無法忽視的網路口碑效應。透過網路口碑的分析可以了解消費者與市場需求，提供廠商未來修正整體經營策略。 本研究透過網路蒐集網路口碑進行內容分析法，瞭解消費者選購床墊的決策流程以及對國內外高價品牌床墊的評價。從研究結果可以發現，近四成的消費者是為了改善睡眠品質而產生購買床墊的需求。實體通路及網路是消費者主要蒐集資訊的管道。在評估床墊時，消費者重視床墊品質、價格以及軟硬度，他們在意床墊和彈簧的設計以及床墊軟硬度。而有近五成五的消費者是偏好較硬床墊。近九成九的購買管道為品牌床墊專賣店和一般床墊經銷通路居多。約1%的消費者由於網路購物的七天鑑賞期而選擇在網路購物平台購買。近七成五的消費者購買後表示滿意，近二成五的消費者購後仍不滿意床墊與彈簧的設計與材質，以及依舊腰酸背痛等。 消費者對於國內外床墊品牌的正面口碑多於負面口碑，其中消費者對席伊麗品牌形象最佳，負面評論少。而消費者對本土床墊品牌，如：德泰彈簧床、老K牌彈簧床和10 Days的品質也有正面的評價，但對於品牌形象與經營則保持負面的態度，建議未來應針對加強品牌權益的目標，調整行銷策略。 / With economic growth, a highly competitive environment results people in poor quality sleep or insomnia. Most of them suffer from difficulty in falling asleep, light sleep and wake early. Therefore, people are more and more willing to invest in bedding, pillow and matress just for a good quality sleep. Due to the mattresses are durable goods with long product life cycle and perceived risk, consumers usually spend a lot of time to study the mattresses before purchasing. On the other hand, with the universal of the Internet and the growth of web2.0, the blooming e word-of-mouths (eWOM) makes consumer tend to uderstand products in advance by reading comments. That indeed cause a serious effect on eWOM for firms who should not ignore. Through analyzing the eWOM, firms could understand the trend on the demand side then modify their strategies. This study collected eWOM from the Internet and use content analysis to understand consumer purchase decision process as well as the consumers’ insights into upscale mattresses. From the results, we could know that almost 40% of consumers buy a new mattress for improving sleeping quality. They usually collect the necessary information by visiting physical channels and surfing on the Internet. They evaluate the mattresses quality, price, softness and firmness. They care about mattresses and springs’ design and matieral. Almost 55% of consumers prefer to buy a firm mattress. Almost 99% of consumers buy mattresses at the physical channels. Rest of consumers buy mattresses on e-commerce due to the 7-days return warranty. Almost 75% of consumers feel satisfied after purchasing. Rest of them are not satisfied at the mattresses and springs’ design and material and uncomfortableness. Consumers gave more positive comments than negative comments on the selected mattresses brands. Sealy had a reputation on its brand image and quality; King Koil, The-Tai Mattress, Kingbed, Tempur and 10 Days are all well-know for their quality as well, but still had some negative comments on the brand image and price. After the eWOM studies on each selected brand, this study gave suggestions to each brand for its future marketing strategy.

The theoretical section attempts to explain shoppers? behaviour in defining the terms of consuming and buying. The marketing research focused on customers planning of purchases or factors affecting the purchases without a plan and attempted to look at different groups of customers.