1) Find three people who would fit that segment and arrange to interview them.
The three people that I have selected (whom I will not include names due to privacy) were old high school friends that I re-encountered when visiting home over the break. I chose them because I know that they like to watch TV and watch shows, as well as hang out with friends and possibly sleep on the couch.
2) Begin with alternative evaluation.
To introduce my alternatives, I went over to the City Furniture webpage and gather many options from their "Living Room: Sofas" page.
When the interviewees picked their sofas, they considered price mostly, followed by style/how it would fit into the apartment or home, and how comfy the sofa looked.
Some factors such as price and color were more important that extra features that the sofa could have. With that being said, there was not been a SmartSofa installed, which makes people not aware and therefore not be mindful of how important extra features are to a sofa.
3) How/where do they buy?
Because most people like to have second opinions and would actually like to see how comfy the Sofa is in person, most people buy their furniture at outlet stores. They are more likely to finance the purchase or pay with a credit card since some sofas are relatively expensive and it is unusual to carry a large amount of cash with you.
4) Post-purchase evaluation.
What matters most to my customers they will most likely think of how comfy the sofa actually is. If the Sofa is comfy, and it shows that it can survive cat claws for example, and it does not get dirty easily, then it will probably be a right purchase for them. If the Sofa was uncomfortable, or the texture is not good enough to survive animals jumping on the Sofa, then it probably will be a bad purchase.
6) Report the findings.
Within my interviews, the main thing that I gathered was the fact price and comfiness were the main two driving forces when influencing the purchasing behavior. I also analyzed how my friends navigated through the webpage and what the main things that they looked for.
7) Draw conclusions.
This segment evaluates their alternatives by sorting out their price range, and then looking at all the available options, mainly drawn in by interesting colors or designs.
When purchasing the decision, these customers want to have others with them who will give them second-opinions in what they are purchasing. They also like to go to the store and visually see the product and test out its comfiness.
Post-purchase evaluation includes testing out its comfiness over time, the durability once animals join in, how many people can actually fit in the sofa, etc.
Those are the two criteria I seek when buying a sofa so you have a point. One rebuttal is that, the people buying from the consignment stores are not in our age group. Most people in the 20-25 age group, I would think, do not have enough money to finance a couch so they buy off of second hand companies like Let It Go and Craigslist. I have to fill my apartment with furniture pretty soon and that's where I'll be shopping from.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Diego! I am not surprised to hear that many people really prioritized price when buying sofas as some of the new leather couches can be thousands of dollars. Its also interesting to still see that many people buy from the brick and mortar stores because so many younger aged individuals shop online extensively. I like how the post-purchase evaluations included the possibility of animals also sharing the couch.
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