Last Friday I went to the Microsoft store in the Prudential Center to buy a Windows Pad. I need a pad to use in campus for reading, writing, and surfing, because my laptop is too heavy for me to carry it to school everyday. At first, my friend suggested me buying a Macbook Air, or any other brand of small laptop, but to be honest, it’s not a good idea to buy a laptop again, though it is smaller, because besides small size and convenient to carry, I also want to use it while laying in the bed, taking airplane, and taking train.
Finally, I still decided to buy a pad. After comparing with many different ones, including IPad, Samsung, and Lenovo, I decided to buy Microsoft’s. It’s not a easy decision as it seems, because Microsoft is more expensive than other pads, including IPad. Besides, as a pad, it’s still a little bit big for me.
Although the Windows pad is expensive, big and not as popular as IPad, I knew I was going to buy it when I entered Microsoft store. The store is in the second floor of Prudential Center, not large – much smaller than Apple store, but it’s clean, bright, and filled with amazing. Windows pads are set in the marked position in order that each customer entering the store can see them immediately. I walked straight to a Windows pad and tried it. It’s very easy for everyone to use it, because it’s just like a computer except for no keyboard and smaller. Toshiba is the first company to design and produce touch screen, but now Microsoft company can also make nice, comfortable, and satisfying screens with good quality. Besides, Windows Pad even use Intel Core I5 – it’s unbelievable to use that as a pad.
Besides the product itself, the atmosphere of the Microsoft store is also very exciting and comfortable. Just like Apple, each staff is passionate, helpful, and patiently – they try their best to answer your all questions and show you how amazing their products are. Definitely they are just salespeople, but actually they do much better than many other stores’ staffs, such as Best Buy. I’d like to explain that kind of business as Apple culture, it’s not easy to describe, but indeed, each person entering Apple would have a feeling “I come here to buy something.” That’s a kind of wonder feeling, but it’s true and also the key to the success of Apple. Now Microsoft, another big computer company, learned it and “copied” it successfully.
Another attribute that makes Microsoft stand out is its strategy. The company knows what customers want and then give them what they want: most of users use Windows as the system of their computers, almost all people use office everyday, now the company also shows us its pad can be another amazing product.
I’m also satisfied with my purchase, though the pad is a little big for me and a little expensive. I’d like to spend more money on Microsoft products instead of Samsung, Toshiba, or any other computer company. It’s just because Microsoft is good and amazing. I don’t really know what the deeper benefits I could have received in purchasing that kind of products. What I just know is that the brand give me a feeling that I can trust it and when I entered the store, I knew that’s the place I would buy something.
Brand and social class are two key factors that influence consumers’ decisions. People are willing to buy “right” things to show their status symbols. For instance, consumers would like to spend much more money on luxury brand than on a normal brand with good quality. What’s more, culture also plays an important role on consumers’ decisions. Laptop, for example, there are much more people buying Apple product than buying any other’s though those brands can also provide good quality laptops. Definitely, there are many other factors influence consumers’ decisions, such as environment, opinion leader, and many others, but those three points are the most important ones I found in my shopping experience.