Review Table 14.2 Time Line for Selecting an HDTV. Review the Adopter Categories on 441-442. Create a 2-3 Page APA paper on why these steps are important to the selection process as a consumer, and then identify what type of Adopter you are from the categories and why?
As with all material you submit to the Instructor, check for correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and usage. Please refer to the Online Communications Guidelines for Paper Submission Standards.
Assignment Checklist:
1. Determine the psychology of consumer decision-making
2. Assess when social factors impact consumer decisions
3. Determine the five factors that influence decision by consumers
4. Paper should be 2 to 3 pages
5. Paper should be in APA format and citations style

TABLE 14.2 Time Line for Selecting an HDTV
0

Janet, a group account director for an advertising agency, has been living and working in Manhattan since graduating college 10 years ago. Last Spring she purchased a one-bedroom apartment in a very nice "doorman" building in Manhattan, in a location that allows her the luxury of being able to walk to work. This apartment replaced the studio she had been renting-one that was small and was not suitable for entertaining friends (at least not more than one or two at a time). Since moving into her new home she has been planning to replace her old inexpensive furniture with more fashionable furniture. But it takes her several months of living in her new home to have some idea of what style she wishes to decorate in and what pieces of furniture she wants to purchase. Also, because of the expense of moving, having the apartment painted, purchasing window blinds, etc., it takes about four months before she feels she is ready to being decorating.


16-20

DECISION PROCESS BEGINS

Janet visits a number of furniture stores and talks to salespeople about the pros and cons of various types and styles of furniture. She also, when visiting friends, carefully evaluates how they have decorated their apartments.


21

Janet's parents live in a suburb of New York City and are presently redecorating a number of rooms in their home. At her mother's suggestion, Janet has her mother's decorator visit her in her new apartment to discuss decorating options and colors.


22

A TV STORAGE UNIT IS PURCHASED

When shopping at a branch of a national furniture store chain, Janet sees a TV unit that she falls in love with. It is about 100 inches wide, and consists of a central storage piece-made for an HDTV set to sit on top-flanked by a tall thin bookcase on each side. She feels that this unit would be perfect for the long wall in her living room, and she purchases it.


23

The new furniture is delivered.


24

CONSUMER ACQUIRES A MENTOR (OPINION LEADER)

Janet knows that her younger brother, who also lives and works in Manhattan, is pretty much of an expert on anything and everything electronic, including TVs. Her brother has been helping her for years with computer problems and whenever she moved he was the person who connected her TV to the cable box and DVD, got her broadband Internet service working properly with her wireless modem, and so on. So Janet asks her brother which HDTV sets she should consider buying.


25-27

FEATURES AND BRAND OPTIONS ARE REVIEWED

While the wall unit can handle a 50-inch HDTV set, Janet decides that there is a limit to how much money she is willing to spend, because she still plans to purchase a dining room table and chairs in the very near future. She and her brother decide that a 40- to 42-inch HDTV set would look very good on top of her unit, and that the picture quality from a 720p set will be fine (rather than spending hundreds of dollars more for a 1080p picture). With the advice of her brother, and after visiting a number of electronics stores with him, Janet narrows down her choice to one Panasonic model, one Sony model, and one Samsung model. While the Panasonic is a plasma set, the other two are LCD HDTVs.


28-29

Janet revisits several electronics stores to again look at the Panasonic, Sony, and Samsung models of interest. She also spends time on the CNET Web site reading about these TVs. She concludes that all HDTVs look great to her. Her brother suggests that since the Panasonic is available in the 42-inch size, while the others are only available in a 40-inch size (she doesn't want to spend the extra money for the next size up, which is 46 inches), she might be better off purchasing the larger TV, since it got a very good review on CNET and its price is comparab

PRECIPITATING SITUATIONS/FACTORS ORDERING THE HDTV
30
Janet prices the Panasonic HDTV model she is interested in. Big electronics stores in Manhattan (each is part of a national chain) are asking about $800 for the TV. She also prices the set online. While several e-tailers are asking $770-$780, with free delivery, the price on Buydig.com is $750 (again, with free delivery). Both her father and her uncle have purchased HDTVs from Buydig.com, and both were very pleased with this e-tailer. So Janet orders the set on a Sunday afternoon, using her laptop, and pays for the purchase with a credit card.

Janet receives an e-mail Monday afternoon that her HDTV set has been shipped and that the trucking company will call her the day before delivery to give her a time. The e-mail also tells Janet that the truck driver will take off the top of the box for her so that she can inspect the screen for cracks. Janet receives a call on Wednesday telling her to expect delivery between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Thursday. She lets her boss know that she will be coming to work a little late Thursday morning. A 9:15 a.m. Thursday morning the doorman in her building lets her know that a large package has arrived, and the deliveryman wants to bring it up to her apartment. Janet tells the doorman to please let him come into the building, and four minutes later the deliveryman and her new TV are in her apartment. The deliveryman takes off the top of the carton, Janet inspects the TV, which is in perfect condition, tips the deliveryman, and then heads off to her office. While walking to her office she calls her brother to let him know that her HDTV set has been delivered, and he promises to come over to her apartment after work that evening to hook it up. By 7:00 p.m. Janet's new HDTV set is sitting on top of her TV unit, connected, and Janet is marveling at how great the picture is. She thanks her brother and says to him "I'm buying, where would you like to eat dinner?"


CONSUMER ADOPTER CATEGORY 1-INNOVATORS

are the earliest consumers to buy the mini netbook. The innovative consumers of hi-tech products or services are often members of the "geek class" (see Chapter 10) who love technology, perceive little risk in adopting new products, and are even willing to pay higher prices for newly-introduced products because they enjoy being the first to own such gadgets. They are also very likely to provide information and advice to potential later adopters (i.e., to be opinion leaders in the realm of hi-tech products).

CONSUMER ADOPTER CATEGORY 2-EARLY ADOPTERS

are consumers who are likely to buy the mini netbook within a short period of time following its introduction (but not as early as the innovators). Within their local neighborhoods or circles of friends, early adopters are also quite likely to provide information and assistance to others who are evaluating a new product like a mini netbook, and thus they are also likely to be opinion leaders.


CONSUMER ADOPTER CATEGORY 3-EARLY MAJORITY

are members of the first half of the "mass market" of consumers who would purchase the now somewhat-established mini net-book. When the product was first introduced, they perceived purchasing it as risky because it was new. After a relatively small but not insignificant number of consumers purchased the product (and probably after the price of the product has gone down), these consumers concluded that purchasing the product is wise.

CONSUMER ADOPTER CATEGORY 4-LATE MAJORITY

consumers are the second half of the "mass market" of consumers who purchase the now even older (possibly at or heading toward "maturity") mini netbook. The members of the "late majority" category of adopters have taken a relatively long time to evaluate whether or not they would benefit by owning a mini netbook and, most likely, perceive more risk in all consumption situations than members of the three preceding adopter groups. Together, the early and late majority adopter categories constitute the large and maturing market for any innovation.

CONSUMER ADOPTER CATEGORY 5-LAGGARDS

are the very last group of consumers to purchase the mini netbook. When they get around to purchasing the product, the innovators and early adopters are already probably switching to more advanced innovations in this product category. Laggards are generally high risk-perceivers and the last ones to recognize the value of innovative products.

Clearly, in the case of most products, not all members of a given society are likely to adopt an innovation. In some cases a very large percentage of consumers purchase a product innovation within a social system and; in other cases a very small percentage of consumers will purchase. In either case, only those who adopted a product or service are included in one of the five categories. The remaining members of a particular society or consumer social system, that is, those who are not accounted for in the five categories, are called "non-adopters" or "non-purchasers."

As far as the exact percentage of consumers belonging to each of the five adopter-categories, marketing practitioners and researchers have not used the first 2.5 percent limit to classify consumers as "innovators." Instead, they have generally defined "innovators" as approximately the first 10 percent of the total purchasers or adopters of a particular products or services. This figure stems from considering real world historical data collected from various industries where product innovations are common. As an example, following the same practice, marketers might estimate the percentages of consumers belonging to the remaining four adopter categories as follows: early adopters as 15 percent, early majority as 30 percent, late majority as 30 percent, and laggards as 15 percent. Figure 14.5 Part B depicts the distribution of adopter categories that are formed from the above assumed percentages for each of the five adopter categories. In reality, while there are not fixed rules for defining the size of a product's or service's diffusion curve, there are patterns for various industries that serve as guidelines