Purchase Decisions of Greek Consumers: An Empirical Study

Abstract

The present study empirically investigates the shopping culture and behavior of Greek consumers, taking under consideration various factors that affect their purchase decisions. Consumer culture has become one of the most powerful characteristics that influence both individual and groups decisions. Even though consumer behavior and purchase intention models are continuing to dominate the academic research and everyday practice of the management science, they could not imprint the whole picture of today's culture evolution. Today, consumers operate in a dynamic and constantly changing environment that dictates the constant re-evaluation of purchase intentions and decisions. In order to investigate the impact of contextual factors, brand loyalty and brand switching on consumer purchase decisions a empirical survey was conducted with the use of a structured questionnaire on a sample of Greek consumers, aged between eighteen (18) and fifty five years (55). The size of the sample was four hundred and fifty (450) questionnaires. The findings reveal that contextual factors have the strongest influence on purchase decisions and have an impact on both brand loyalty and brand switching. Moreover, the findings provide important insights rega rding the factors that practitioners should enhance in order to tailor their marketing approaches. In general, the present study offers knowledge to managers and researchers on the issues of purchase decisions, brand loyalty, brand switching, and contextual factors.