German Consumer Decision‐Making Styles

The lack of previous relevant consumer research in Germany, together with the need to test the generalizability of consumer decision‐making styles in different countries and with non‐student samples, prompted an investigation of German shoppers. The original U.S. eight‐factor model could not be confirmed completely, but support was found for six factors: Brand Consciousness, Perfectionism, Recreational/Hedonism, Confused by Overchoice, Impulsiveness , and Novelty‐Fashion Consciousness. Variety Seeking was novel to Germany and replaced brand loyalty and price‐value consciousness factors found in previous countries. Explanations for the differences are discussed as well as the marketing implications.