MRKT 4003 Module 1 Consumer Behavior Analysis Example

Back on the Bike at Sixty: Analyzing How Returning Riders Decide on an E-Bike Rental at an Independent Boise Bike Shop

Student Name

American College of Education

MRKT4003: Introduction to Marketing

Module 1 Assignment

Instructor Name

October 12, 2026

Introduction

I manage operations at an independent bike shop in Boise, Idaho, that has sold and repaired bicycles for twenty-two years. The shop is a composite drawn from my experience; details have been changed. Next spring it will launch an e-bike rental program, with half-day and weekend rentals and a credit toward purchase for renters who buy. The owners believe the strongest market is not young commuters, who are well served by online sellers, but older adults who rode years ago and stopped. This paper defines that target segment, analyzes how its members decide whether to try an e-bike and identifies what the shop's marketing must do at each step.

Defining the Segment

The target segment is adults aged 50 to 70 in the Boise area who rode bicycles regularly earlier in life, have stopped or ride rarely and have household incomes above the regional median. They are defined less by age than by situation: many cite hills, knee or back problems, fear of traffic or difficulty keeping up with a spouse or friends as reasons they stopped. Many are recently retired or have grown children and more free time. The segment is attractive for three reasons. It is large and growing in the region, its members can afford e-bikes, which typically cost several thousand dollars, and its main barrier, physical effort, is exactly what an e-bike addresses. Research on e-bikes supports this: reviews have found that e-bikes can extend cycling to people who find conventional bicycles too demanding, including older riders, and that e-bike users often ride farther and more often than they did on conventional bikes (Fishman & Cherry, 2016).

The Decision Process

Consumer decisions are often described as a sequence: recognizing a need, searching for information, evaluating alternatives, deciding and evaluating the experience afterward. Lemon and Verhoef (2016) recast this as a customer journey through prepurchase, purchase and postpurchase stages, shaped by touchpoints the company controls, those partners control, those customers control and those outside anyone's control, such as friends and online reviews. The journey model fits this segment well, because its members rarely move straight from interest to purchase; they circle back, ask friends and need reassurance at several points.

Prepurchase: Recognizing a Need and Searching

Need recognition in this segment is usually triggered by an event: a friend who bought an e-bike and talks about it, a grandchild who wants to ride together, a doctor's advice to exercise without strain or a vacation spent watching e-bikes on a trail. The need is often framed as a loss to be regained, not a product to be bought: "I used to love riding." Information search then mixes personal and online sources. Members of this segment trust friends and in-person advice more than online advertising, but they also read reviews and visit manufacturers' websites, where specifications on motors and batteries can confuse more than help. For this segment, the most powerful prepurchase touchpoint is not an advertisement but another person their age, on an e-bike, saying it changed their weekends.

Prepurchase: Evaluating Alternatives

When they evaluate options, returning riders weigh more than price. Zeithaml (1988) described perceived value as a judgment of what a customer receives against what they give up, and noted that what is given up includes time, effort and risk as well as money. For this segment, the perceived sacrifices include the risk of spending thousands on something they may not enjoy, fear of falling or embarrassment, uncertainty about maintenance and worry about storing and transporting a heavy bike. Alternatives include buying online, buying from a big-box retailer, renting from a tourist outfitter on a trip or simply doing nothing. Doing nothing is the strongest competitor. A rental program addresses the largest sacrifice, the risk of an expensive mistake, by letting people try before they buy.

Purchase and Postpurchase

The purchase decision for a rental is small, but the experience during the rental largely decides whether a later purchase follows. A fitting that adjusts the bike properly, a patient introduction to the controls and a suggested first route on the Boise River Greenbelt, which is flat and separated from traffic, can turn anxiety into enjoyment within an hour. After the ride, renters evaluate the experience and talk about it. Satisfied renters become the friends who trigger need recognition in others, which makes the postpurchase stage the start of the next customer's journey.

Influences on the Decision

Several influences shape decisions in this segment. Psychological influences include motivation, which centers on health, freedom and time with family; perception, since many see e-bikes as cheating or as devices for people with disabilities; and attitudes toward risk. Social influences are strong: spouses often decide jointly, and friends' experiences carry great weight. Situational influences include weather, since Boise's best riding months set the timing of decisions, and life events such as retirement. Personal influences include age-related physical limits and comfort with technology, which varies widely in this group. Cultural influences matter too: in Boise's outdoor culture, being seen as active carries status, which can work for or against e-bikes depending on how they are framed.

Who Decides, and With Whom

Purchase decisions in this segment are rarely made alone. Couples often decide together, and the less enthusiastic partner frequently holds a veto, worried about safety, cost or being left behind if the other rides more. Adult children also weigh in, sometimes encouraging a parent to stay active and sometimes worrying about falls. This shared decision has two consequences. First, marketing must speak to the hesitant partner as well as the enthusiast, for example by offering couples' rentals so both can try together. Second, the shop's staff should invite both partners into the fitting conversation rather than addressing only the one who walked in first. Ignoring the second decision maker is one of the most common reasons a promising prospect never returns.

Implications for Marketing

The analysis points to five marketing implications. First, messages should frame e-bikes as a way to get back to something loved, not as new technology. Second, the shop should create opportunities for prospective riders to hear from people their own age, through group demo rides and customer stories. Third, the rental itself is a marketing tool; its price should be low enough to lower risk, and the purchase credit should make buying the natural next step. Fourth, staff must be trained to handle hesitant first-time riders patiently. Fifth, the shop should make it easy for satisfied renters to bring friends, for example with a two-for-one weekend rental, because word of mouth drives this segment's journey.

Conclusion

Returning riders aged 50 to 70 are a promising segment for the shop's e-bike rental program, because their main barrier to cycling is the one an e-bike removes. Their journey is triggered by life events and peers, slowed by perceived risks and decided largely by experience. Marketing that frames the product as regaining a pleasure, uses peers as messengers and treats the rental as a trial leading to purchase fits that journey. Module 2 designs research to test these assumptions with real prospective customers.

References

Fishman, E., & Cherry, C. (2016). E-bikes in the mainstream: Reviewing a decade of research. Transport Reviews, 36(1), 72-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2015.1069907

Lemon, K. N., & Verhoef, P. C. (2016). Understanding customer experience throughout the customer journey. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), 69-96. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.15.0420

Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: A means-end model and synthesis of evidence. Journal of Marketing, 52(3), 2-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298805200302