What influences your buying behavior?

We heard a story on American Public Media’s Marketplace on Friday that caught our attention: What factors do people consider when they’re looking to buy a new car? Here’s a bit of the transcript:

Kai Ryssdal: People who’re in the market for a new car usually offer up a fairly standard list of particulars: Reliability, good mileage, high satisfaction ratings.

I got news for you. A new study suggests a good number of you are, well, lying.

According to a recent survey conducted by JD Power & Associates, a good number of people don’t actually base their vehicle-buying decision on concrete information or data. Rather, opinions are far more likely to be swayed by perceptions about about a car’s reputation, quality, look, and feel.

What we believe this study is picking up on is peoples’ tendency to conform their consumption patterns to social expectations and other sources of subjectivity. You can find out what influences your own purchasing decisions by taking this 12-question survey here at Beyond the Purchase.

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