Introduction
Thøgersen, Jørgensen & Sandager in their 2012 article Consumer Decision Making Regarding a “Green” Everyday Product” discuss consumer’s interaction with brands through the lens of product differentiation and the effects on involvement in the purchase process. The article examines the consumer behaviour of involvement and develops an understanding qualifying the differences between a high involvement interaction and a simple heuristic with respect to an everyday product. The Evaluative result is mixed: The article’s approach demonstrates a highly developed research methodology with clear and concise conclusions. However, there are assumptions made with respect to the participants and the subject matter which detract from the consistency of the article, resulting in a narrow perspective.
Summary
The article considers brand differentiations in a segmented market, hypothesising the heightened involvement a consumer experiences when brand presentation is geared towards an aspect that connotes emotive associations. The authors conduct observations and interviews with a set of consumers purchasing an “everyday” item from two department stores in Denmark to ascertain their purchasing attitudes and decision making processes when considering brand alternatives. the focus of this study was the engagement of consumers with environmentally sustainable or “green” products; aiming to prove a heightened cognition in association with the product or the development of a simple heuristic in their purchasing habits. From the results of the study, the authors concluded: Consumers do not readily engage with brand origin or manufacture on a cognitive level, simply opting for an addition to their conventional shopping behaviour and making the assessment of the green
