Abstract:
The objectives of this study were to investigate demographic factors affecting purchasing decisions and to examine the influence of cognitive biases on the purchasing decisions of Thai consumers who have purchased herbal supplement products. This quantitative research employed a questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 400 consumers who had purchased herbal supplements, selected via convenience sampling. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, One-Way ANOVA, and Multiple Regression Analysis. The results indicated that most respondents were female, aged 31 - 40 years, held a bachelors degree, worked as government or state enterprise employees, and earned 25,00135,000 THB monthly. Purchasing behavior primarily occurred through online general stores, particularly via the Shopee platform. The analysis revealed that demographic factors had no statistically significant effect on the purchasing decisions for herbal supplement products. However, cognitive biases collectively explained 13.5% of the variance in purchasing decisions (R2=0.135, p<0.001). Specifically, the Availability Heuristic (β=0.254, p<0.001) and Loss Aversion (β=0.148, p=0.003) demonstrated a significant positive influence. These results suggest that purchasing decisions are largely driven by information that consumers can easily recall or are familiar with, as well as concerns regarding health loss or the loss of privileges. Conversely, the Framing Effect, Anchoring Effect, and Status Quo Bias did not show a significant influence on purchasing decisions.