Consumer Decision-Making Constructs: Differences Among Generational Cohorts

The goal of this study is to extend prior research by examining generational differences in consumer behavior. Most consumer decision-making models describes five main stages: 1) problem recognition, 2) information search, 3) alternative evaluation, 4) purchase, and 5) post-purchase. Although various scales can be utilized in order to measure each stage of this process, the authors decided to focus on a promotion-focus scale for problem recognition, an information acquisition scale to measure information search, a quality-consciousness scale and a price-consciousness scale to measure alternative evaluation, a confused by over-choice scale and a compulsive buying scale to measure purchase, and a consumer debt scale in order to measure post-purchase.