When I look at my own buying habits, I can see that I don’t really fit into just one neat marketing box. I’m a Gen Xer, a mom of four grown kids, a barista, a college student, and someone who lives on a modest income while trying to live with intention. I care deeply about authenticity, sustainability, and people. I was raised in a conservative religious home. However, over time I’ve deconstructed a lot of what I was taught. I’ve chosen to keep the values rooted in love, justice, and empathy. All of that influences how and why I buy the things I buy.

What Influences My Buying Decisions?

Here are a few key things that shape the way I decide what to buy:

• Values– I care about sustainability, social responsibility, DEI, political connections, and whether a company treats people well.
• Function Over Impulse– If it doesn’t genuinely solve a problem, it doesn’t need to come home with me.
• Budget Realities– As a lower income earner, I evaluate worth, not just price. Sometimes the “cheaper” option costs more in the long run.
• Brand Transparency– I don’t have to agree with a brand on everything, but if they’re openly harmful, I’ll pass.
• Life Stage– I am in my fifties, in a same sex marriage, building a new career, sharing a home with grown children, and trying to live with intention. That combination affects what I buy and what I walk away from.

Which Stage Actually Leads to My Purchases?

The stage that usually pushes me from thinking to buying is the evaluation of alternatives.

I rarely impulse buy. I read reviews. I compare products. I watch videos. I might even read the comment section (although that’s not always great for mental health). I ask myself: Does this align with who I am and how I want to live?

If I’m still thinking about the product after few days, it usually means one of two things:

1. I genuinely need it.
2. It fits both my personal values and my practical needs.

According to the VALS lifestyle segmentation, I fall somewhere between a Thinker and a Believer, with a splash of Maker and Experiencer mixed in. I value knowledge, practicality, family, creativity, and purpose. I don’t chase trendy products or buy things just to impress others. Instead, I ask myself whether something lines up with my values, my budget, and my lifestyle. I’m also the type of person who will thoroughly research a product and the company’s ethics before clicking “add to cart” (Babin & Harris, 2021).

That’s when I buy.

How Marketing Research and Design Influence Me

Good marketing design matters to me, but not in a superficial sense. I pay attention to:

• Whether the brand understands its audience
• Whether they’re using manipulative fear-based messaging or thoughtful storytelling
• Whether they’re being disrespectful to any group of people
• Whether their design reflects truth or just performs “relatability” for clicks
• Whether they’ve done their homework on what people actually need.

I’m most drawn to brands that seem to care, just as much or more, about people as their profits. I don’t mind being marketed to, as long as I’m respected in the process.

Do I Experience Post-Purchase Behavior?

Yes, I do. I sometimes feel buyer’s remorse if I break my own values or choose something that does not last. For instance, why is it that my parents had the same vacuum cleaner from the time I was little until after I graduated high school, but I cannot seem to own one that works longer than three years? Or why could my grandma have a refrigerator from the 1950s that lasted until the early 2000s, but the expensive one I bought is already dying after seven years? I also feel a sense of disappointment when I sign up for a service only to learn that the company has chosen to act unethically or disrespect certain consumers. A good example is when I switched to T-Mobile because they openly supported DEI, only to watch them walk back those values later.

On the other hand, when I buy something thoughtful, durable, and aligned with my beliefs, I feel a sense of satisfaction and even pride. For me, the emotion after a purchase is not just about whether the product works. It is about whether the decision reflects the kind of world I want to support with my money.

Final Thoughts

I am not the kind of consumer who can be fully persuaded by bright packaging or trendy influencers. I am a values-driven, research-loving, empathy-first Gen Xer who believes consumer choices are tiny statements of identity. I also believe that what I choose to buy helps shape the world my kids and grandchildren will inherit. I do not always get it right, but I try to let my heart, my budget, and my conscience share the same table before I buy. While I cannot control the whole marketplace, I can control the impact of my cart.

Reference

Babin, B. J., & Harris, E. (2021). CB (9th ed.). Cengage Learning US. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9798214339405