A key challenge faced by the retailer is creating products and services which would be successful in the market. The accurate understanding of consumer needs helps the retailer create a product that is likely to be successful in the market. Consumer understanding or an understanding of the consumer buying behaviour is the starting point of strategy creation. It is not only important to understand what consumers know about a product. But also what they do not know this helps in determining the channels of communication and the products that need to be created to cater to the need of consumer. Evaluating consumer knowledge can also help a firm assess. how well it has achieved its product positioning goal. The firm needs to study consumers to see how it product perceived; if there is a good match. the positioning strategy can be deemed to have been a success, Retailers need to know the various influences that lead up to a purchase, not just the store where the purchase was made. This includes looking at a host of external and internal influences, the process starts with:
~ Understanding how the need for a product/service was determined;
~ Understanding how information was sought by the customer;
~ The process of evaluation or \’various products and stores;
~ The payment process; and
~ The post purchase behaviour.
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