Let’s Evaluate.

There are some websites that help consumers evaluate brands one at a time. Then, there are other sites that help consumers compare brands across the board. In this post, I’ll be explaining how these different websites might influence consumer decision-making in both a positive and negative manner.

Amazon.com allows consumers to evaluate brands at one time. As we all know, Amazon is a website that features a plethora of products, but I narrowed in on the “Beauty” category. On the left side of the page, I was able to view a long list of beauty products—ranging from Sephora, Clinique, Avon, Estee Lauder, and many more! The website allowed consumers to search by brand. One at a time, I went through the brands that I was interested in—looking at all the specials, gathering color and style information, and paying attention to the “Average Customer Review” listed below each product. The “Average Customer Review” could influence consumer-decision making because it provides feedback from real customers, who’ve had real experiences…both positive and negative experiences. Therefore; this could both positively and/or negatively influence consumer decision-making.

Also, looking at each brand individually was in one sense positive because it allowed me to look at each brand one at a time and to focus on that particular brand and gather details before moving onto the next brand. However; I was interested in comparing the eye shadow shade colors among the different brands, and I was unable to see them side-by-side, allowing me to get a “close-up” comparison.

Another site I visited was www.autotrader.com. This website helps consumers compare brands across the board! A consumer simply goes to the site, clicks on the “Compare Models” tab, and from there—consumers are able to select car brands, makes, and models and evaluate the different products all at once, across the board. This method of comparing brands “across the board” is positive because the consumer can compare the price, features, and info for several products at once. However; this could also negatively influence the consumer too, simply by choosing a brand over another based on that direct comparison that the website provides.

Sources:

Retrieved on December 8, 2009 from www.amazon.com.

Retrieved on December 8, 2009 from www.autotrader.com

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