Exploring the decision marking process towards fitness centre of Thai female consumers aged 25 to 35 and 40 to 60.

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study is to gain an insight into the decision making of Thai female consumers towards fitness centre and the determinants that influence each stage of their decision making process. Fourteen participants from two aged groups, 25 to 35 and 40 to 60, were recruited to participate in this study. Utilizing the in-depth interview to collect the data, the researcher discovered four major themes that illustrated the major variables that affected the participants’ decision making process: Health Consciousness, Nice Body, Convenient Location, and Great Facility. Through the use of Consumer Decision Process (CDP) model as the framework, the researcher further discovered that the participants from both age groups have gone through six stages of the decision making process. Both groups, however, were influenced by different factors at each stage of their decision making process. While the older group was significantly influenced by “Individual Differences” such as motivation, attitude, values and personality in a high degree, the younger group was influenced by “Individual Differences” as much as “Environmental Influences,” which included personal influences and family. In addition to generating the new knowledge that would enhance the generality of theories regarding the decision making process towards products/ services related to health and exercise, this study also suggested the knowledge that the marketers can use for developing or improving the competitive position for their brands as well as the marketing communication campaigns that could effectively communicate their brands to the target consumers.