Why do we buy what we buy? In some cases there is a direct motivation: we are hungry so we buy a loaf of bread. But when we buy a nice T-shirt of a certain brand, we may have very different reasons, think for example of status or image.
So for each product we buy, we have different motives: buying motives we call them. In this blog we will show you some examples of buying motives and we will explain how you as an e-commerce company can use buying motives smartly to increase your conversion.
What are buying motives?
There can be an infinite number of buying motives underlying a person's purchase. And often the choice is not determined by one motive, but by a combination of buying motives. But to give you a good idea, we have listed 7 common buying motives below.
- Money
The cheaper the product, the sooner the customer will buy the product... right? Not quite, it's a little different. How that works exactly, we will explain later in this blog. But the price of a product is certainly a buying motive nonetheless. - Need
Think of food and drink: we simply cannot live without it, so we buy it. - Certainty
When you always brush your teeth with the same toothpaste and never have a cavity, the product gives you a form of certainty that makes you keep buying it. - Safety
Safety is also a common buying motive. Consider, for example, the helmet if you ride a motorcycle or a screen protector for your smartphone. - Convenience
Are you sitting on the couch on a lazy Sunday and you don't really feel like walking to the supermarket, but you do have a big appetite. Then the convenience of ordering food is definitely a buying motive. - Status
An expensive, fast car, a shiny watch or a branded shirt: do we really need it? No, we don't, but it does make us feel good and have a form of status. - Self-development
As human beings, we want to grow on a personal and mental level. That is why we buy books or take a course, for example.
Emotional buying motives vs rational buying motives
Do we buy based on rational motives or based on emotional motives? Many people believe they make choices primarily based on reason, and sometimes that's true - I'm hungry so I'll buy a loaf of bread. But in most cases we really make choices based on underlying emotions: for example, feelings of safety, convenience, lust or status. Research even shows that more than 80% of our purchase decisions are made based on emotional motives and that, for example, a rational buying motive such as money actually plays a subordinate role.
Using buying motives as a webshop
Okay, now we know what the main buying motives of customers are and we have learned that most customer choices are based on emotion. But how do you find out which buying motives are decisive for your webshop customers? You can do this by talking to your customers and using, for example, an online survey or a customer panel to find out why a customer buys your product. When you have a good picture of the buying motives of your customers, you can cleverly respond to this in your communication, for example, by elaborating on these motives in a product text or by responding to the right feelings of the customer in your marketing. If you master this trick and actively apply it, it will give your conversion and turnover a huge boost!
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