Changes in Consumer Purchasing Decisions: Traditional and Emerging Factors in the Dynamic Marketing Landscape Over 15 Years

Abstract

The paper summarises the factors influencing consumer purchasing decisions and the changes the factors have undergone over the last 15 years. The research aimed to determine what changes have occurred in the intensity of the traditional factors influencing consumers' purchasing decisions over the past 15 years and to identify the new factors currently shaping consumers' purchasing decisions. The research was carried out by means of a questionnaire survey conducted in the Czech Republic (N = 686). The survey results were subjected to descriptive statistics combined with multivariate exploratory factor analysis. The paper presents the results of an empirical analysis which showed that between 2007 and 2022, there were no significant changes in consumers’ perceived importance of traditional factors influencing their purchasing decisions in different categories of consumption. The research has confirmed that consumers perceived quality, price and necessity as the most important factors across the different categories, while advertising was still the least important. However, the perceived importance of advertising has increased slightly in some shopping categories, such as Clothing and Footwear and Transport, along with the perceived importance of discounts. However, new factors have emerged to influence consumers before making a purchase decision. The Clothing and Footwear category was selected for detailed factor analysis because consumers assigned more importance to the emerging factors here than other purchase categories. By applying factor analysis, the authors identified five determinants of consumer decision-making in purchasing Clothing and footwear category, including new and traditional factors. The first determinant was the current trends in the market. The second determinant was recommendations, including recommendations from family, friends and professionals, together with the chance to try something new. The third purchase determinant was experience based on the consumer’s previous experience, which also shaped the subsequently preferred parameters and product quality. The fourth determinant was pricing. The final determinant of the purchase decision was sustainability in both consumption and purchase. The research results are useful for market players, especially in the innovation of customer communication and company marketing management.