You’re not in control of your purchase, your subconscious is. That’s 95% of decision-making.

When people decide to buy something, it is never an easy choice. It is fuelled by a complex set of brain processes and emotions. With the high pace of online shopping in this day and age, companies need to understand what motivates their choices in order to thrive. By combining marketing and brain science, companies can benefit from insightful ways. They can understand how consumers think, feel, and act at every stage of the buying process. Let us examine these stages in more detail.

Awareness Stage: Capturing Attention and Stimulating Emotions

Brain's Response: A brain area called “Amygdala” responds immediately to new and stimulating objects, fuelled by dopamine, making us pay attention to bold and eye-catching elements, our brain automatically recognizes things like contrast, motion, and colour. This quick reaction happens before we even think about it, which makes these cues great for grabbing attention fast. Strategies to Employ:

Stand Out: Employ bold colours and graphic symbols such as Coca-Cola's dynamic red, which enhances brand’s automatic recognition.

Use Short, Engaging Videos: TikTok or Instagram Reels are ideal for capturing interest in a flash.

Highlight Visual Appeal: Memories are visual, therefore, include striking images and minimalist designs.

Consideration Stage: Integrating Thinking and Feeling

Brain's Response: Another brain area “The prefrontal cortex” assesses trust signals, i.e., reviews. Older people tend to use emotions, whereas young individuals use logic. Strategies to Employ:

For Older Customers: Emphasise nostalgia, share compelling brand stories, and highlight positive reviews.

For Younger Consumers: Provide elaborate product information and engage with fun elements like quizzes.

Show Value: Use pricing techniques like "Was $100, now $70" to add value to products.

Purchase Stage: Stimulation of Decisions

Brain's Response: Urgency and FOMO (fear of missing out) activate the amygdala. Surprise Incentives like surprise discounts let out dopamine. Strategies to Use:

Create Buzz: Make flash sales and surprise gifts.

Simplify the Buying Process: Offer speedy checkouts and display trust seals in the hope of swaying buying.

Create Urgency Mildly: Make limited-time offers but not overly aggressive.

Retention Phase: Building Emotional Attachments

Brain's Response: The hippocampus makes remembering brands possible, whereas the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex (vmPFC) associates your brand with an individual's sense of self. Strategies to Use

Stimulate Recall: Provide targeted messaging based on the history of purchase behaviour. Use Known Advertising: Employ familiar and discreet advertising.

Build Relationships: Regular effective engagement creates loyalty.

Advocacy Phase: Creating Brand Advocates

Brain's Response: Oxycontin release facilitates bonding and is stimulated when people share meaningful, identity-congruent stories. Strategies to Use:

Encourage Sharing: Ask customers to share their own stories.

Build Community: Create loyalty programs and surprise customers with gifts.

Reinforce Identity: Let customers feel a part of your brand purpose.

When your brand message aligns with how the brain naturally thinks, feels, and recalls you build greater resonance, not mere recognition. The customer journey isn’t a straight line, but a dynamic path shaped by emotions, visuals, and unconscious cues that influence behaviour, and this is not about manipulating consumers. It’s about understanding them, how they feel, think, and choose, to design the experience that truly resonate. The future belongs to brands that lead with empathy, design with intention, and communicate with emotional intelligence.

Are you ready to shape your customer experience with insight, not just in the mind, but in the heart?

Questions:

What part of the brain is involved in buying decisions?

The amygdala drives emotion and urgency, the prefrontal cortex handles trust and logic, the hippocampus helps recall brands and the vwpfc links the brand to personal identity

How do emotions affect buying behaviour?

Emotions like excitement and nostalgia trigger dopamine, making us more likely to notice, want, and remember products especially when visuals and stories are involved.

Why are most buying decisions subconscious?

Because our brains react emotionally and automatically to visuals, urgency, and rewards before logic steps in, that’s why 95% of decisions happen subconsciously.

How can marketers use brain science in the customer journey?

Use bold visuals to grab attention, stories to build trust, urgency to drive action, and emotional connection to keep customers loyal

What builds brand loyalty in the brain?

Memory (hippocampus) and identity (vmPFC) build loyalty. Familiar ads, surprise gifts, and meaningful storytelling keep your brand top of mind and heart.