OPSOMMINGVerbruikersbesluitnemingsmodelle word algemeen in verbruikersgedragnavorsing gebruik om die navorsing te struktureer en te konseptualiseer. Verskeie van die tradisionele modelle -wat in die laat sestiger en sewentigerjare saamgestel is -is in handboeke beskikbaar wat terselfdertyd die teorie ter ondersteuning bied en die stappe van die verbruikersbesluitnemingsproses definieer en bespreek. Verbruikersbesluitneming word meestal in terme van vyf stadia voorgehou. Die modelle verskil grootliks ten opsigte van die klem en konteks sowel as detail wat ingesluit word.In die tagtigerjare het navorsers begin besef dat die tradisionele modelle van verbruikersbesluitneming nie noodwendig die korrekte beeld van die verbruikersbesluitnemingsproses weergee nie, Verskeie navorsers het resultate van studies gepubliseer om aan te toon dat alternatiewe tot die tradisionele verbruikersbesluitnemingsmodelle gevind moes word. Feitlik sonder uitsondering toon besware 'n oorbeklemtoning van eksterne en omgewingsfaktore op verbruikersbesluitneming sowel as 'n wanvoorstelling dat aktiewe beplanning en rasionele denke komplekse besluitneming rig. Verbruikersbesluitneming het oor jare baie meer kompleks geraak as gevolg van 'n groter verskeidenheid produkte wat beskikbaar is, ontwikkeling op die gebied van tegnologie, wêreldinvloede, groter bedingingsmag van werkende vroue wat ook op besluitnemingstrategieë in gesinsverband 'n invloed het. Veralgemening van verbruikersbesluitnemingsprosesse in terme daarvan om tradisionele besluitnemingsmodelle te gebruik om bepaalde prosesse voor te stel, is nie meer haalbaar nie.Die positivisme wat algemeen as perspektief vir die beskouiing van verbruikersbesluitneming beskou is (en nog steeds deur sommge beskou word) blyk nie al die moontlikhede te bied om die fenomeen te beskryf nie. Sterk steun vir die implimentering van subjektivistiese benadering en veral kwalitatiewe navorsingstegnieke in navorsing waar die verbruiker toegelaat word om gedagtes en idees spontaan te ontvou, word bepleit. In ooreenstemming met 'n voorstel van Sheth (1981) word navorsers op die gebied van verbruikersgedrag in die verbruikerswetenskap gemotiveer om kreatief te dink binne minder rigiede teoretiese raamwerke sodat daar deur middel van navorsingsmetodes en tegnieke wat groter ruimte vir die ontdek van die onverwagte, meer omtrent verbruikergedrag aan die lig kan kom. Indien bestaande teorie van verbruikersgedrag gekombineer word met produkspesifieke (byvoorbeeld behuising, kleding, huishoudelike toerusting) teorie kan nuwe insigte bekom word wat waardevol en rigtinggewend kan wees in verbrui- INTRODUCTION Consumer behaviour1 and consumer decision-making 2 have become prominent research topics in the various fields of consumer science in recent years. Consumer science includes the former discipline of home economics and refers to a discipline that evolves around consumer behaviour and decision making concerning foods and nutrition, clothing and textiles, housing and interior merchandise in everyday living in orde...

Although not regarded as the major culprits in terms of the degradation of the world's resources, consumers in developing countries such as South Africa should be encouraged to realize their potential contribution to save our planet. This research investigated consumers' prioritization of product choice criteria in a prominent product category, i.e. major household appliances, to determine and describe how consumers could be encouraged to accept the principles of pro‐environmental product choice and consumption behaviour. The survey that was conducted in Tshwane, a major urban area in South Africa, in 2010 involved a structured questionnaire that was distributed by means of a convenient snowball method. Findings (n = 446) indicated that the majority of respondents always/mostly considered desirable functions rather than aesthetic attributes or price as important choice criteria, and that consumers would like to obtain information about the ‘greenness’ as well as the ‘functionality’ of appliances before purchasing. Consumers strongly agreed that the durability of appliances (service life) as well as running costs, i.e. electricity and water consumption, should be considered. Consumers seemed undecided about issues concerning recycling and recycling centres, the benefits of modern appliances and whether locally manufactured appliances are better than imported brands. Although different sources of information could be influential during consumers' pre‐purchase evaluation of major household appliances, consumers' reliance on personal acquaintances (friends and family) surpassed their trust in salespeople as information source by far. The majority of respondents indicated that they used printed information sources such as promotional material and brochures as information sources. Retail and industry should supply comprehensive information about pro‐environmental properties of their products. The results of this special investigation may be transferred to similar target groups in developing countries but are not typical for consumer behaviour elsewhere, whereas the methods are generally applicable.

At present, the South African (SA) energy supply per person surpasses that of several other developing countries in the world notwithstanding the energy crisis in the country and evidence that SA produces among the highest greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP in the world. The problem is partly due to an increased demand for major household appliances in recent years, which have resulted in an over extension of existing capacity and perpetual power failures. Increasing consumption patterns in the rapidly expanding economy of South Africa requires intentional efforts to promote more sustainable product choices for example an understanding of the relevance of environmental attributes in consumers' evaluation of product alternatives to ensure lasting environmental implications. Using Sawtooth conjoint software, trade-off tasks were compiled and included in a cross-sectional survey involving 648 households in Tshwane, South Africa to assess the relative importance of various environmental attributes (e.g. energy efficiency) in relation to other product features (e.g. brand and price) of washing machines. Aggregate results reveal that consumers across various age, income and educational levels prioritise brand and price, despite the long-term financial and environmental repurcussions of product features that impact on the use of natural resources.Based on a cluster analysis, four consumer segments were identified that differ in terms of preference structures, which offer valuable insight for the development of intervention strategies and marketing campaigns. In summary, the findings underline current literature,namely that in order to facilitate pro-environmental product choices "green" product offerings must also perform competitively in terms of non-environmental attributes. Future studies should focus on a broader scope of factors, including consumers' knowledge and awareness of the environmental impact of their product choices, to better inform marketing campaigns and intervention initiatives.

This study aimed to describe consumers’ retrospective satisfaction with food labels within the expectancy (dis)confirmation paradigm and to investigate the likelihood of food labels influencing consumers’ product choices. A quantitative, descriptive, cross‐sectional survey approach was followed to explore and describe consumers’ satisfaction with attributes of and information on food labels. Self‐administered questionnaires (n = 279) were distributed in Gauteng, South Africa, through convenience sampling. On average, respondents were dissatisfied with label attributes (believability, readability, comprehensibility and adequacy) and with primary information (expiry date, allergens, nutrition/health, ingredient list, quality guarantees), but satisfied with secondary information (usage instructions, manufacturer name, symbols, serving numbers, country of origin). Respondents had higher expectations of primary information and considered it more influential for their purchasing decisions and, therefore, judged the performance of this information more critically than the secondary information. When amendments to and the presentation of food label information are considered, primary information should be a priority. Consumers, who are satisfied with food labels, might be inclined to choose one product over another. This study was the first of its kind, linking satisfaction and product choice to different dimensions of food labels.

A worldwide increase in household debt since the turn of the century has created considerable concern about the indebtedness of households, especially those in emerging economies that have been hit particularly hard by the global economic slump. In this study, the credit consumption of consumers in Swaziland (N = 264) was investigated by means of a survey that aimed to identify and describe factors that encouraged consumers' use of credit, the influence of credit on their buying behaviour when choosing major household appliances or furniture as well as consumers' knowledge of the conditions of credit facilities that were available for their use in retail. Findings revealed that consumers unequivocally appreciate the convenience that is associated with credit, specifically to cope with unexpected purchases, to benefit from special offers and opportunity to afford expensive goods. These advantages apparently negate the negative consequences such as high interest rates and strain on household budgets. Mean scores that were obtained in the knowledge test that only reflected upon credit agreements that respondents have actually entered into in the past, confirmed their ignorance pertaining to their contractual obligations and their consequent vulnerability. Consumers' age and gender seem to have noteworthy consequences for efforts to enhance informed consumer decision‐making. Younger females were significantly better informed that their older counterpart while the reverse was true for males, although differences were not significant. The significant inverse relationship between income and the LS‐means for the credit knowledge test differ from findings in developed countries and provide valuable opportunity for further investigation.