“She knows what she wants…”: towards a female consumption risk‐reducing strategy framework

This paper provides an exploratory examination of the purchasing patterns, selection procedures and risk‐reducing mechanisms employed by female consumers making joint purchase decisions with their male partners within the furniture and carpet sectors of the home improvement market. It focuses on two main areas: female consumer purchase selection processes and the impact of female consumer risk reduction strategies (RRSs) on this process. These issues are explored by considering female consumer buyer behaviour in relation to joint purchase decisions regarding “high‐involvement and high‐risk” household products at three stages of the selection and purchase process: pre‐purchase, consumption and post‐purchase ‐ as defined in the services consumer behaviour model.