INFLUENCES ON
BUYING DECISIONS
How do you measure a complex emotional response – and its effect on buying decisions?
Why does a consumer choose one product over another?
Price, features and practical benefits can all play a part. But buying decisions can also be shaped by feelings, associations and instinctive responses that consumers may find difficult to recognise – let alone explain.
Understanding those responses means looking beyond what people say they would buy. By measuring both conscious opinions and more automatic reactions, research can build a richer picture of what influences consumer choice.
WHY WE
CHOOSE
Consumers don’t make every decision through careful, conscious evaluation.
Brands, packaging, claims, advertising and previous experiences can all trigger associations and emotional responses. These may influence how a product is perceived before the consumer has consciously considered the reasons behind their reaction.
That makes buying behaviour complex. A consumer might be able to tell you what they chose, but identifying everything that influenced that choice can be much harder.
BEYOND PURCHASE
INTENT
Asking someone whether they would buy a product can provide valuable information. But on its own, stated purchase intention doesn’t necessarily explain the feelings and associations behind that answer.
Split Second Research combines traditional self-report questionnaires with implicit and neuro-cognitive methods to investigate different aspects of consumer response.
This can help reveal not only what consumers consciously think about an option, but also the more instinctive reactions that may contribute to its appeal.
BEYOND PURCHASE
INTENT
Asking someone whether they would buy a product can provide valuable information. But on its own, stated purchase intention doesn’t necessarily explain the feelings and associations behind that answer.
Split Second Research combines traditional self-report questionnaires with implicit and neuro-cognitive methods to investigate different aspects of consumer response.
This can help reveal not only what consumers consciously think about an option, but also the more instinctive reactions that may contribute to its appeal.
MEASURING EMOTION
Emotions aren’t always easy to put into words.
Consumers can experience rapid reactions to a brand, product or piece of communication without consciously identifying exactly what created them. Split Second Research uses implicit reaction-time testing to measure these automatic responses.
By looking at the speed and accuracy of responses, implicit research can reveal the strength of associations between a stimulus and different attributes or emotions – providing a way to measure reactions that may be difficult to capture through direct questioning alone.
WHAT IS DRIVING THE RESPONSE?
A buying decision rarely depends on a single element.
The pack may attract attention. A claim may communicate an important benefit. The brand itself may trigger established associations. Imagery, messaging or other visual assets may create an emotional response.
Split Second Research’s different testing approaches allow these elements to be explored individually and together.
That can help identify which aspects of the consumer experience are contributing to the response – and where there may be opportunities to strengthen it.
FROM FEELING TO CHOICE
Measuring an emotional response is useful. Understanding whether it relates to consumer choice makes it more actionable.
Split Second Research can combine implicit measures with explicit responses including preference and purchase intention. Its FAST methodology can also explore the relationship between consumers’ emotional responses and their purchase decisions.
This allows researchers to look for the associations that differentiate people who choose a product from those who don’t.
Rather than assuming which emotions matter, the research can investigate which responses are actually connected with choice.
BUILD THE
FULLER PICTURE
No single measure tells you everything about a buying decision.
Explicit research can capture the opinions and intentions consumers are able to report. Implicit testing can reveal automatic attitudes and associations. Visual testing can explore what captures attention, while other neuro-cognitive measures can add further insight into consumer response.
Bringing these measures together provides a more complete view of the decision-making process.
The result is research that goes beyond what consumers say they would buy to explore what they feel, what influences them and how those responses relate to the choices they make.
TRADITIONAL SURVEYS
Sometimes, the simplest way to understand people is to ask them.
Our traditional research methods capture conscious opinions, attitudes, preferences and intentions, providing robust data that can reveal what audiences think and why.
QUESTION
RESPOND
ASSESS
IMPLICIT RESPONSE
People don’t always say what they really think.
Implicit research helps uncover the automatic associations and emotional responses that sit beneath conscious answers. By looking beyond what people say, we can reveal the reactions that influence perception and behaviour.
SUBCONSCIOUS
INSTINCTIVE
TRUTH
VISUAL PREFERENCE
What people choose to look at can tell us a lot about what connects with them.
Visual preference research explores how people respond to different creative, design and visual assets, so we can offer insights on what grabs customers’ attention and which visual elements make the difference.
COMPARE
REVIEW
DECIDE
BUYING DECISIONS
Understanding behaviour means looking beyond individual answers.
We combine different sources of evidence to measure complex emotional responses and their effect on buying decisions. The result is a richer understanding of your audience and the factors that influence their choices.
TEST
UNDERSTAND
DELIVER
WE BRING
IDEAS TO LIFE
Communication done well, whether in words, images, video, or in person, can stop people in their tracks, change their minds, and inspire them to take action.
