consumer-behavior

The structure of a purchase from first exposure through repeat. The classical funnel and its loyalty-loop extensions, consideration sets, post-purchase cognitive dissonance, the expectation/perception model of satisfaction, the retention vs acquisition cost asymmetry, and the actual mechanisms behind repeat buying — habit, switching cost, identity, and trust.

The motivation theories that try to explain consumer demand: Maslow's hierarchy and its critique, self-determination theory's three needs, the jobs-to-be-done reframing, hedonic vs utilitarian goods, identity signaling and Veblen demand, and the social-norm pull. Each presented as a lens with a clearly stated empirical track record.

The cognitive mechanisms behind consumer choice: dual-system thinking, the durable heuristics, anchoring, prospect theory's loss aversion and S-shaped value function, diminishing sensitivity, the contested choice-overload finding, and the default effect. Frames each as a mechanism with its replication status, not a marketing recipe.