Chapter 6- Consumer Decision Making.

Victoria's Secret has been a hugh driver of financial success for the Limited Brand which is the parent company. Consumers pay more attention to what is hip and trendy in the marketplace as it relates in fashion. Advertising plays a big role in fashion decisions made by adults. For example, advertisers for Victoria's Secret has done a brillant job of creating visual image of sexiness which immediately comes to mind. Victoria's Secret do this by using famous super models to market their signature lines. This association is projected back to the customers who begin to believe they they can be as seductive as the Victoria's Secret models if they purchae such products. Before making any purchase, a buyer goes through a decision making process that is described in five steps according to my marketing text book:

1. Need recognition- occurs when consumers are faced with an imbalance between actual and desired states that arouses and activates the consumer decision making process.

2. Information Search- After recognizing a need or want, consumers search for information about the
various alternatives available to satisfy it.

3. Evaluation of Alternatives- After getting information and constructing an evoked set of alternative
products, the consumer is ready to make a decision.

4. Purchase- The evaluation is made by examining alternative advantages and disadvantages along
important product attributes.

5. Postpurchase Behavior- When buying products, consumers expect certain outcomes from the
purchase. How well these expectations are met determined whether the consumer is satisfied with the purchase.

The five steps listed and explained above represents a general process that can be used as a guide for studying how consumers make decisions.

The Victoria's Secret customer is first captivated by watching catelogs, browsing online or just by figuring out what are their desires. Women are giving the impression that if they buys the Victoria's Secret products, she will feel and be deemed as sexy. The consumer is shown that Victoria's Secret has an array of quality products that can produce enhancing results.

In addition, for women who may thing that Victoria's Secret clothing are too sexy for them, the Pink Brand is a more younger (13-30 years old) and fashionable clothing that customers would enjoy and be comfortable. The Pink line of clothing is basically aimed towards college students who are mainly seen in them. However, with Victoria's Secret and Pink together, consumers are more able to take their personal style to a higher level by wearing clothing that better suits their personalities.