Choice Among Products

A Final customer buying from an intermediary of the product The Final customer is the one who makes the final decision on what product to buy and from which supplier to buy it. Most consumer products, and many industrial products, reach Final customers through Intermediaries.

Use Steps: Use steps include all the Final customer's activities to find the appropriate product category at the Intermediary, to choose among the alternatives to the product and to take delivery of the product.

2. Emotional:

A. Needs for comfort and status
3. Status through the recognition of customer's individual requirements for product:
a. Function
1. Choice among products

NO.	INDUSTRY SIC	YEAR	EXAMPLE
1	5945	2001	Toys "R" Us bought the rights to the Cabbage Patch line this year and is setting aside a lavish display at its newly opened flagship store in New York's Times Square. To give the dolls a one-of-a-kind look, factory molds are changed almost weekly.
2	5611	2002	Due to the casual dress movement of the late 1990s, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers created a business casual line to lessen its reliance on suits. The line featured chinos, sweaters, vests and leather jackets. Business casual clothes are now Banks' fastest growers. And suits now make up only 27% of company sales, compared with 45% in 1999.
3	5411	2004	To emphasize its Texas roots, HEB has specialized in developing its own branded products tailored to specific community needs and tastes.
4	5661	1999	Other shoe sellers are taking heed. Seattle-based retailer Nordstrom Inc. recently said it will sell shoes via the Web. Nordstrom says it will pump $10 million into www.nordstromshoes.com, offering 20 million pairs. Nordstrom currently lists 200,000 pairs of shoes on its Web site www.nordstrom.com.
5	7375	2004	America Online's AOL 9.0 For Broadband, the latest version of the company's broadband service, comes with souped-up features like streaming video and audio. There's also anti-virus and firewall software, and parental controls.
6	7371	2000	E-memories, one of the best online photofinishing sites, produces the best looking albums on their site. The site allows customers to customize their own photo albums and add live links to other web pages.
7	6211	2001	In 1994, SEI Investments invented an asset allocation tool based upon mutual funds, which allows customers to manage their own money through the internet and their PC. To develop this product, SEI spent over a year studying their wealthy target market.
8	6211	2002	In order to improve their services and encourage investment activities, brokers are working to offer personalized advice. Charles Schwab can give customers a financial plan for $250 to $500 depending on the portfolio.
9	7375	2004	One element that makes MSN worth $9.95 a month is parental controls which keep kids away from nasty things online. MSN premium offers a generous allowance for e-mail attachments. Many email services limit attachments to a few megabytes, but MSN premium allows attachments of up to 10 megabytes for the main account holder.
10	7832	2000	Century Theaters, which operates 700 screens, plans to grow by 200 during the next two years. It recently opened an 18-plex in the Chicago suburb of Evanston. Six of the screens are segregated into a prototype called Century CineArts. The theater-within-a-theater will show arts and independent films and feature a bistro in the lobby.
11	5621	2001	Chico's uses a different sizing scale with smaller numbers to make their customers more at ease while offering comfortable and stylish clothing. All their clothing is private label.
12	7384	2000	Shutterfly introduced a new suite of photo enhancements which enable users to personalize the appearance of their photographs, including specialized borders, personal notes on the back of prints. Rivals are following its lead.
13	7841	2001	Netflix also beats Blockbuster on selection. It has a library of 10,000 titles. That is more than 10 times larger than the largest Blockbuster store.
14	7374	2003	Even among tech companies, which as a group remain mired in a slump, a select few have found a way to grow through innovation. Internet survivor eBay Inc., continues to grow by expanding the variety of products its merchants offer.
15	5999	2003	Gap carries odd sizes on the site and offers free shipping to customers if they can't find a particular item in its Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy brick-and-mortar stores.
16	7832	2001	Century Theaters is made up of big megaplexes that show Hollywood blockbusters. Century Theater will continue opening megaplexes and plans to unveil a 20-screen theater in Daly City.
17	5942	2001	Books & Books attracts a certain kind of customer as an independent store. Customers are commonly interested in poetry, photography, architecture, fiction, and travel books. The staff of the store is very personable and knowledgeable.
18	5531	2002	AutoZone's product variety has helped boost sales as it has added more accessories to personalize vehicles. Its commercial sales to auto repair shops and fleet services have provided good revenue.
19	5411	2003	Wegmans stores carry 60,000 different items, 42% more than the industry average. For example, the cheese department stocks no fewer than 500 choices from around the world.
20	5411	1996	Harry's Farmers Market has 2 new Harry's in a Hurry gourmet takeout restaurants in an exclusive neighborhood.