Low-Involvement versus High-Involvement Buying Decisions
Consumers don't necessarily go through all the buying stages when they are considering purchasing a product. "Impulse buys" receive little planning or forethought and are usually but not always inexpensive purchases. Level of involvement in the purchasing decision means how personally interested you are in consuming a product. A low involvement product is generally inexpensive and poses a low risk to the buyer. Consumers engage in routine response behavior when they buy low-involvement products--that is, they make automatic purchase decisions based upon limited information or information they have gathered in the past. High involvement purchasing decisions carry a high risk to buyers if they fail, are complex, and /or have high price tags. High involvement products require extended problem solving where more time is spent comparing different offerings. High involvement products are more likely to cause buyers post-purchase dissonance if the buyers are unsure about the purchase. Consumers engage in limited problem solving when they already have some information about a good or service but search for somewhat more information. Low-involvement products pose little risk to the buyer because they are usually inexpensive products and are easy to purchase. High-involvement products pose a high risk because they are usually expensive, complicated, and/or time-consuming to purchase.