How comparative mindset influence the consumer buying behaviour in buying skin whitening face care products: Sri Lankan context

Abstract

Consumer purchasing decisions always involve two modes of cognition: a decision-only mindset (e.g., considering whether to buy) and a comparative mindset (e.g., comparing and deciding among available options) (Lee & Ariely, 2006; Xu & Wyer, 2007). This paper discusses how the comparative mindset influences consumer buying behaviour in buying skin whitening face care products in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka, these are in high demand, and consumer buying behaviour has not been monitored from the consumers’ comparative mindset. This study analysed a comparative mindset by taking ten current users and non-users of skin whitening face care products in Sri Lanka. Respondents were selected through the convenience sampling method and were interviewed using an in-depth interview method. Thereby, results revealed a strong and positive influence of the comparative mindset on the purchase and non-purchase of skin whitening face care products among users and non-users, respectively.