Habitual Buying Behavior

Definition

A habit is a learned response to a stimulus that has become automatic and routine, requiring little or no cognitive effort.

Habit formation is the process of learning a specific behavior often requiring practice or rehearsal of the response. There is considerable controversy, however, on just how much repetition or how many trials are necessary for learning to occur. It probably differs between cognitive problem solving and simple physiological or muscular reactions.

In the choice process, habitual buying behavior refers to consumer decisions made “out of habit” without much deliberation or product comparison. [1]

It is usually a low-involvement purchase and involves repeatedly buying the same brand within a given product category. [2]

See also

Extensive problem solving
Routinized response behavior

References

1. American Marketing Association, AMA Dictionary.
2. Govoni, N.A. Dictionary of Marketing Communications, Sage Publications. (2004)