Consumer Psychology

Psychological principles of the impact of marketing, advertising and strategic communication

Consumers are crucial to the success of a company. It is therefore important to look at how and why consumers make decisions and what influence advertising measures, product design and product presentation have. Only by understanding consumer behavior can communication measures be managed effectively and in a targeted manner. Methodologically important aspects here concern the areas of advertising impact and market research. The research group investigates the principles of the effect of such measures.

Purchasing behavior and communication at the point of purchase

Psychological knowledge is also relevant in retail. A large part of consumers' decisions are made at the Point of Purchase, i.e. in the store. Retailers and manufacturers try to control these decisions by using communication measures such as music, store design or promotions. For a successful use of these measures, however, knowledge is needed about the psychological mechanisms underlying the purchasing behavior of consumers. In this research group, we are primarily concerned with the motivational psychology of shopping and the effect of communication measures at the Point of Purchase. This includes the question of what effect different shopping orientations have on consumers' information processing and on the effect of measures such as music, store design or promotions. Another aspect of the research is the further development of market research methods that can be used to study shopping behavior.

Sustainable consumer decisions and behavior

The focus on short-term experiential gain often leads to consumer decisions that have long-term negative consequences for society, the economy, the environment and the consumers themselves. Examples of this are excessive consumption of food with the consequence of rising healthcare costs and the unsustainable use of financial resources leading to debt. An important task of applied social psychology is to investigate the basis of consumer decisions in this context and to identify influencing and controlling factors.