A comparison of consumer decisionmaking behavior of married and cohabiting couples

Purpose The purpose of this article is to compare the consumer decisionmaking behavior between married and cohabiting couples. Designmethodologyapproach Data were collected from 40 cohabiting couples and 53 married couples in a western state via a selfadministered questionnaire. The structure and the instrument used replicated the Gadis et al. study in exploring consumer decisionmaking processes of married couples. Findings Married couples tended to be more syncratic than cohabiting couples in their decision to purchase forms of savings in this phase, but more autonomic when purchasing alcoholic beverages. Cohabiting couples were found to be more syncratic in their decision making for these products at this phase than married couples. The results, when compared to those of 18 years ago found that men and women of married couples make purchasing decisions separately, while men and women of cohabiting couples made most of theirs together. Implications of the findings were then discussed. Practical implications Marketers, when attempting to reach married couples today, should focus media and advertising communication efforts on two audiences rather than one since either the husband or wife may be making the decision. The communication strategy used should focus on the joint nature of both processes since cohabiters showed a propensity toward syncratic strategies in all three phases. Advertising and message strategies should focus on how single people of the opposite sex decide on product purchases together since cohabiters are more like single people in their decisionmaking behavior. Originalityvalue This study compares consumer decision making among married and cohabiting couples.