Consumer Products

Consumer goods fall into three general categories: convenience,

shopping, and specialty products. This classification describes the prod-

ucts involved and it is actually based on the consumer’s reasons for buy-

ing, the consumer’s need for information, and the consumer’s shopping

and purchase behaviors.

Convenience products are relatively inexpensive, are purchased on a

regular basis, and are bought without a great deal of thought. Conve-

nience products reflect the consumer behaviour of buying goods or ser-

vices with a minimum of shopping effort. People buy these products at

the most convenient locations (hence the term). Milk, shoe shines, soft

drinks, and bread, are convenience products. How far out of your way

would you go to buy a quart of a particular brand of milk? The answer to

this question helps determine whether a given product is a convenience

product.

Shopping products are goods and services that generate a great deal

of consumer effort Consumers feel the need to make product compari-

sons, seek out additional information, examine merchandise, or other-

wise reassure themselves about quality, style, or value before purchasing

a shopping product. In other words, prospective buyers of products such

as clothing, shoes, furniture, and tableware want to shop around.

Decisions about shopping products are not made on the spur of the

moment. Buyers want to mull things over before committing themselves.

This is partly because shopping products are generally priced higher than

convenience products. There is also greater consumer involvement with

the purchase. Thus, the risks associated with shopping products, both

monetary and social, are fairly high. The distribution strategy for shop-

ping products differs from that for convenience products. Since people

are willing to shop around, the product should not be available every-

where rather, it should be placed in selected spots.

Consumers believe they know exactly what they want. They have se-

lected the brand in advance and will not accept substitutes. At the mo-

ment of purchase, they no longer need to make shopping comparisons

among alternatives. They have thought about their purchase. They regard

the brand as having a particular attraction other than price. Products

that are the object of this type of consumer concern are called specialty

products. Many of these products are seldom-purchased items such as

stereo equipment, pianos, wedding receptions, or expensive cars. Po-

tential buyers may have gathered a great amount of information prior to

making the purchase decision. At the time of purchase, they may spend

considerable time and effort to get to the appropriate store that carries

the item, but they no longer need to make shopping comparisons. Their

minds are made up.

Some products do not fit neatly into this product classification

scheme. However, classifying products into convenience, shopping, and

specialty products does help in planning marketing strategy for most

consumer products.

Unit 3