Chapter 7: Problem Recognition and Information Search

What drives you to finally swipe that card at the end of your shopping day? Is it price? Quality? Brand? Everyone has a different mindset when shopping and debating the purchases their trying to make. Our headspace plays such a key role when shopping because the positive and negative notes of a shopping environment will ultimately determine what we will end up buying. 

Problem Recognition is actually the perceived difference between the ideal state and the actual state. As consumers, we have an idea of how we want and expect our shopping experience to go, and then it goes another way. It is the job of marketers to build up the ideal state so much for consumers so it gets everyone through the door, and increases the possibility of sales. 

When it comes to Dollar Tree as a franchise and company, many of the consumer's first priority is price. That is usually the reason they walk through the door. The expectation of price is always met when consumers come into a dollar tree. There is no need for the consumer to debate and question if a product will be within their price range because Dollar Tree provides that guarantee. This is an ideal mindset for a consumer. Many people want to know roughly what the price of an item they want is, just to decide if they need to walk through the door or not. 

With a franchise such as Dollar Tree, you have to weigh the actuality of their company. When so many people are trying to shop and get the best values for their products, you may run into the issue of stock being low or even the quality being a little lower, due to cheaper materials. 

This may be why individuals who value branding do not shop at Dollar Tree. In order to keep prices for items so low, Dollar Tree produces them through themselves. This creates a lot of knock-off versions of popular products. When you shop in stores, many times you are paying more for the brand, which is why a place like Dollar Tree, would not carry popular brands. 

Information search is simply recalling stored information in our memories. If we remember that we like higher quality items made with better materials, we might not come back and shop at the Dollar Tree. Those who like the quality, price, and overall convenience of the Dollar Tree, will continue to remember that and store it for their information search. The next time they need an item they will think positively of the Dollar Tree.