The importance of consumer insights

Heuristics, mental shortcuts in our unconscious mind, often determine and influence consumer behaviours (Solomon 2020). The availability heuristic and the inertia heuristic, two consumer concepts, will be used in this essay in order to understand their influence on both consumer motivations and decision-making, as well as to understand their importance when developing consumer insights. Consumer insights are interpretations of who consumers are and what their characteristics are (occupations, location, media-use etc), what they think and feel and what their objectives are (Parker et al. 2021). Furthermore, Sigmund Freud (1963) describes the unconscious mind as a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that are outside of our conscious awareness.

The availability heuristic describes our tendencies to make “probability estimations based on the ease with which instances of an event come to mind” (Yamashiro and Roediger 2020, p.311). This heuristic is part of the habitual decision-making process, where choices are made automatically “with little or no conscious effort” (Solomon 2020, p.355) and can be particularly damaging for new brands. If a new brand enters the market and potential consumers are not aware of it, it will be difficult for it to achieve a high level of sales. In addition, “consumers’ estimates of perceived risk may be influenced by […] the availability heuristic”, which may affect their brand perception (Folkes 1988, p.13). Therefore, creating brand awareness and inciting brand interest before entering the market is important to increase consumers and sales without the heuristic influencing consumer motivations and the decision-making process (Wijaya 2012). Furthermore, Ernest Dichter (1986), an American psychologist and marketing expert, is of the opinion that human beings have the same innate drive to consume and express their individual needs through purchases. Although, the availability heuristic can act as a barrier and can stop consumers from achieving their real needs and wants, as the heuristic can hide true motivations (Solomon 2020). For example, this can often happen if a consumer cannot find a certain brand, so they decide to stay with the first brand that came to mind, or if a consumer based his purchase on the first online review of a certain product (Nazlan et al. 2017).

The inertia heuristic, also known as decision inertia, is a tendency “to repeat unsuccessful decision strategies” regardless of the outcome (Jung et al. 2019, p.30). It is a heuristic that has no rationality and is purely based on habitual decisions which influence motivations. This heuristic can be damaging for the consumer as they may not express a real need towards a product but still buy it out of habit. It can be especially damaging if the price is high, which could later affect their purchasing power. It can also act as an influence on consumer motivations as it can prevent consumers from expressing their real needs and wants (Macdonald and Sharp 2000). Furthermore, this heuristic is in opposition with Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory. He “assumes that behaviour results from conscious choices among alternatives whose purpose is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain” (University of Cambridge 2016). This is part of the consumer’s cognitive process, where decisions are made whilst in a conscious state and adaptability is possible (Solomon 2020). Although, the inertia heuristic prevents consumers from achieving this expectancy theory, which can have a negative effect on consumer satisfaction as purchases will be made through habit and unconsciousness (Jung et al. 2019). In addition, the impact of inertia on motivational conflicts can be the source of solutions but also of unwanted outcomes. If a consumer finds himself in an approach-approach motivational conflict, where he/she “must choose between two desirable alternatives” (Solomon 2020, p.170) (for example if a consumer is hungry and wants both tacos and a burger) then the inertia heuristic can act as a solution and the consumer may choose the last option he consumed. On the other hand, if the consumer is in a situation of approach-avoidance, where he/she desires “a goal but wish to avoid it at the same time” (Solomon 2020, p.171) (for example if a consumer is hungry but should not eat because of a diet) the inertia heuristic might act as an unwanted solution as the consumer may decide to still eat out of habit.

To conclude, consumer motivations are largely determined by heuristics that are part of the unconscious mind. These heuristics affect consumer motivations which influences the consumer decision-making process. Therefore, due to the high potential influence of these heuristics, it is essential to understand these consumer concepts when developing consumer insights.

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