How do consumers act when buying a product? What makes us make the final purchase decision? Are we carried away by impulses or are we carried away by needs? Behind every purchase decision there is always an explanation. This is the case of rational purchases, those that have finally been carried out because they have been meditated and thought.
Definition of rational purchase
The definition of rational purchasing is understood as the behaviorconsumer that leads you to acquire a product, good or service through reflection or planning. That is, for the consumer to conclude with the purchase action, they have previously considered issues such as the quality and price of the product, what they would obtain with said purchase and what not.
Likewise, to understand the concept of rational purchasing, we must be aware that in the acquisition phase of the product, everything that needed to be known about it, its defects and its virtues has been investigated.
Characteristics of the rational purchase
The main characteristic of a rational purchase is that an analysis is always carried out prior to purchasing the product, quite the opposite of what happens with impulsive purchases, where the action is not conscious. Even so, we identify other particular features that have led to rational purchasing, and they are the following:
- The probability of acquiring a high-cost product is associated with rational purchasing. Consumer behavior reflects the pros and cons before buying a product based on its price. For example, buying a car or a latest generation mobile.
- Heproduct life cycle. This is one of the factors that influence a rational purchase, since the decision to purchase or not a product depends on the estimated time that is going to be used. Therefore, a rational buyer considers whether it is worth investing a lot of money.
- The consumer assesses if there are other brands that have the same product and carries out a comparison to evaluate what other options they have.
- One of the compelling reasons that justify the rational purchase is the purchasing power. Consumer behavior is considered to be directly dependent on their budget. Therefore, the probability of buying a product with a high price is greater in those cases in which the consumer's economic level is higher.