Consumer Behavior

Week 5 Assignment – Utilitarian and Hedonic Motivation

After reading this week’s chapters I have a better understanding of what both utilitarian and hedonic motivation means. I have to admit I was unclear, at first, because I never heard these terms used before. So, for the individuals who are unfamiliar with these terms I will define each of them for you; utilitarian motivation refers to the desire to satisfy a practical or functional need by purchasing a product or service; hedonic motivation refers to the desire to feel pleasure or enjoyment from purchasing a product or service. After some research, I decided to evaluate Simple Green Cleaning Products for the utilitarian section because I use several of their products in my home. I chose Carnival Cruises for the hedonic section because I recently took a cruise to Baja Mexico using their cruise line.

Let’s start off with Simple Green Cleaning Products; I have been using their products for many years, in fact they are the only cleaning products I use in my home; reason being, they are all non-toxic, non-flammable, non-abrasive and biodegradable. Since, I have children, (and pets), I wanted to make sure I used cleaning products that were not going to harm them or our environment. So, Simple Green was the brand that not only claimed to be safe, but, was actually proven to be safe’ which makes them my #1 choice.

Cleaning products are considered to be utilitarian products because they are items that are constantly replaced when they run out and they serve the practical purpose of cleaning. With more attention being focused on toxicity in cleaning supplies and how harmful they are to our planet, consumers are destined for confusion when they get to the cleaning supply aisle. Why I like Simple Green Products so much is because the company takes the decision factor out of the equation for me. When I go to the Simple Green website the home page is attractive, inviting, and easy to navigate. The tab to...