Brand or bargain : how brands affect consumer decisions

Abstract

The objective of this study is to find out the importance of brands and branding on consumer behavior and research the decision-making process of the consumer. As brands and branding are visible everywhere today and companies consider them as an important factor separating them from competitors and giving them competitive advantage, it is interesting to see how consumers perceive them. In the first chapter of this thesis a short introduction to the research topic is given and the research questions are refined. The Second chapter concentrates on branding and a few theories in that field are presented to the reader. The next part defines consumer decision-making process and different factors affecting on individuals’ consumer behavior, such as demographics, lifestyles and psychological and social factors. Secondary data collected from books, journals and online sources are used as reference in these chapters. Primary data was collected through an online survey and the results of this research are presented in the fifth chapter. The online questionnaire was created in order to find out about people’s consuming habits, factors affecting their choices and whether brands affect their choices or not. The data collected is analyzed with the help of figures drawn from the results of the survey. In the conclusion part, research findings and theory are analyzed together and important themes are pointed out. Validity of the research and implications for further academic research are presented.