ECONnections: Lesson 5: How E-Commerce Infulences Consumer Choice

Lessons:

Trade in Colonial America / NAFTA

Timing is Everything

Developing a Financial Investment Portfolio

Widgets: Producing More, Using Less

How E-Commerce Influences Consumer Choice

The Great Depression Mystery

Lowell Workers and Producers Respond to Incentives

LESSON 5: How E-Commerce Influences Consumer Choice
Click for Teachers' Version

Introduction

In this lesson you will learn decision-making skills that will help you to become a more knowledgeable consumer. As a consumer you have a variety of alternatives from which to choose. In this activity you learn about the importance of price information in making your decisions.

First, you will gather information on different brands of athletic shoes and determine which one is the best buy for you and why. You will listen to an interview with Adam Silver about consumer decision making. Then, you will identify a toy or game you would like to buy. To help you determine where you should purchase your item, you will gather information from a traditional store, a catalog and several websites.

More and more consumers are using e-commerce to purchase goods and services. To determine the extent to which consumers in your neighborhood use e-commerce, you will conduct a survey of adults and report the findings of the class to those who participated in the survey.

Part 1

Your present pair of athletic shoes are too small. You need to purchase a new pair. Check the type of athletic shoe you need.	Men's running shoe Women's running shoe Men's basketball shoe Women's basketball shoe Men's soccer shoe Women's soccer shoe Men's baseball shoe Women's volleyball Other
Now that you have selected the type of shoe you want, rank your brand preference by placing a 1 in the left hand column next to your first choice, 2 for your second choice, and so on until you have ranked all brands listed. There is a blank space to fill in with a favorite brand of your own.	Adidas Asics New Balance Nike RYKA other

What influenced your ratings?

One factor that influences consumer spending decisions is price. Use the following websites listed below and fill in the price for each of the brand of shoes listed.

http://www.adidas.com
http://www.asicstiger.com
http://www.nbcloseouts.com
http://www.nike.com
http://www.ryka.com
http://www.kellysrunningwarehouse.com
http://www.onlineshoes.com

Rank	Brand	Price	Rank with Price Information
	Adidas
	Asics
	New Balance
	Nike
	RYKA
	other

Using the price information rank the brand names again.

Did your rankings differ? Explain. [Answer]

Why is knowing the price of the shoes you would like to buy important? [Answer]

Why do consumers substitute less expensive goods for more expensive goods? [Answer]

When have you substituted a less expensive item for a more expensive one? Why did you do this?

Part 2 >>