The impact of zero moment of truth on consumer buying decision: An exploratory research in Turkey

Abstract

As a result of technological improvements, consumer purchase decision process deviates from its traditional behaviors. Considering the traditional consumer behavior, process of product purchase decision begins with being exposed to a stimulus, to various phases, finally to decision phase. Technological changes enable consumers to have ready access to available rich information about all types of products immediately after being exposed to a stimulus. At this stage, a new concept Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) plays a crucial role that accompanies more information seeking activity prior to going to the store. In this study, theoretical and existing academic literature investigated with a prior similar research conducted in US and Asia to analyze the results across different demographic segments, and to compare ZMOT against other MOTs.