These days, there are rarely two minutes between the thought „I need new running shoes“ and clicking „Buy“—and it’s almost never a straight path. In between, there are 14 tabs, three price comparisons, a voice command in the car, a voice message to your best friend, two push notifications, and, increasingly, an AI chat.
And yet many companies still treat the purchase decision process like a funnel: reach goes in at the top, revenue comes out at the bottom. That’s exactly where the gap lies. After all, if you only measure what was purchased, you’ll never find out why. The concept of the 5 „Mys“ closes this gap—it makes the invisible drivers behind every decision visible and, therefore, controllable.
Why the traditional purchase decision process no longer works
The textbook model consists of five straightforward steps: problem identification, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, and post-purchase behavior. It’s still useful as a framework for thinking. As a roadmap for 2026, however, it’s about as accurate as a city map from the ’90s: the streets are still there, but the one-way rules aren’t.
Because customers change their minds. They discover a product in a Reel, forget about it, see it weeks later in a push notification, ask an AI for alternatives, read two reviews, go to the store—and end up buying something else there. The purchase decision process isn’t a staircase, but a loop in which stimulation and evaluation constantly intertwine.
The New Co-Decision-Maker: Artificial Intelligence
The biggest shift over the past two years has occurred in the information phase. Where there used to be ten blue links, there is often just a single summarized answer today.
The figures speak for themselves: About 70 % of German consumers have already used AI applications to research products or prices, 54 % received product recommendations that they would not have considered without AI, 53 % would be willing to complete a purchase directly within the AI tool—and 48 % of AI users have already made a purchasing decision based solely on AI information (Source: EY-Parthenon). Younger people in particular are driving this trend: According to the same study , 42 % of 19- to 24-year-olds prefer to use AI.
For businesses, this means that part of the evaluation phase takes place in a space where you have no say. This makes everything that lies before and after this black box all the more valuable—a direct channel to customers, your own data, and a relationship that’s stronger than the next algorithm. That’s exactly what customer loyalty tools are designed for.
Think Ahead Instead of Playing Catch-Up
Many companies still view their market through the lens that brought them success in the past. That’s understandable—and risky.
Experience is like a lantern behind us; it always illuminates only the part of the path we have already traveled.
Confucius
When customers already know exactly what they want, the decision has usually already been made. The competition for attention takes place earlier: at the moment when a need arises but doesn’t yet have a name. Whoever is there with the right suggestion wins—not whoever shouts the loudest about a discount.
The 5 „Mys“: five drives, one complete picture
The concept of the 5 „Mys“ originates from the customer research framework Me, My Life, My Wallet by KPMG (Global Customer Insights). The basic idea: Human decisions cannot be explained by a single metric. Only when all five dimensions are considered together does a realistic picture emerge of how and why someone makes a purchase.
Each „My“ tells only part of the story. Together, they reveal the complexity behind customer decisions—and show you very specifically where your company excels and where there is room for growth.
1. My Motivation: What Really Drives People
Values, Expectations, Priorities: Why does someone choose sustainability over price? Convenience over choice? Motivation is the most stable of the five drivers—those who understand it can align their product range and rewards strategy accordingly. A glance at the rewards page shows that it’s worth it: 80 % of German consumers want rewards that can be redeemed immediately, and 62 % expect personalized, individually tailored offers (Source: Loyalty Report 2026). Motivation is measured through in-app surveys, reward preferences, and which rewards and challenges are actually accepted.
2. My Attention: Where My Gaze Wanders
Attention is the scarcest resource in the purchasing decision-making process—and the one that’s wasted the fastest. What matters isn’t how often you send messages, but whether you show up on the right channel at the right time. Open rates, click paths, and times of day provide a fairly reliable indication of this. And silence isn’t a sign of politeness: 84 % of Germans want to be informed about offers and news at least once a week, preferably via email newsletter (Source: Loyalty Report 2026).
3. My Connection: How Connected Someone Is While on the Go
This dimension describes how people are connected to devices, information, and one another: smartphone-first or desktop, digital wallet or plastic card, recommendations from friends or from review sites. The trend is clearly measurable: 73 % of consumers would switch to a digital solution (Source: Loyalty Report 2026). The more digital the connection, the more signals are generated—and the better we can anticipate the next step. A good starting point for this debate: digital loyalty card vs. plastic card.
4. My Watch: The Time Factor
„My Watch“ is all about time: How much of it is available, how is it allocated, and how does that change in response to life events? Starting a career, moving, having a child—each of these events shifts routines and, with them, purchasing patterns. Just how much time people are willing to invest for benefits is evident in practical terms: 58 % of Germans consciously choose a store with a loyalty program, 55 % even if it’s not on their direct route (Source: Loyalty Report 2026).
5. My Wallet: Where the Budget Goes
This isn't about absolute income, but rather the share of wallet: what portion of their budget customers allocate to you—and how that portion shifts across different life stages. The impact is greater than many assume: On average, customers spend 30 % more when they use a customer loyalty program (Source: Loyalty Report 2026). That’s exactly why tools like RFM analysis in Insights & Analytics exist: It shows who is currently gaining value and who is quietly drifting away.
Three perspectives through which you read the Mys
The five drivers alone remain abstract. Only through three lenses—in the KPMG model, the levels Me, My Life, and My Wallet—do they become analyzable:
- Behavior: What do customers actually do—frequency, channels, shopping cart, response to offers?
- Finance: How much leeway is there, how price-sensitive is the decision, and how is the share of wallet evolving?
- Demographics: Age, household, region, life stage—the context that explains behavior and finances.
Companies that understand this interplay and incorporate it into the design of their customer experiences gain a competitive advantage that’s hard to replicate—because it’s based on their own data. We explain how to collect and use this data effectively in the article Why Customer Data Is Worth Its Weight in Gold.
From Theory to Practice: Putting the 5 Mys into action
A model only becomes useful when each driver is assigned a measurable data point and a specific action. Here’s what this could look like in a digital customer loyalty program:
| „My“ | How to Tell | What you make of it |
|---|---|---|
| My Motivation | Survey responses, selected rewards, challenge participation | A mix of premiums based on claim type instead of a flat discount |
| My Attention | Open and click-through rates, channel preference, time of day | Push notifications for spontaneous matters, email for matters requiring explanation |
| My Connection | Device, Wallet Usage, Recommendations | Digital Loyalty Card Plus "Refer a Friend" Program |
| My Watch | Visitor Frequency, Time Slots, Seasonality | Display offers at the actual purchase frequency |
| My Wallet | RFM Analysis, Receipt Amount, Category Mix | Tiered incentives instead of a discount for everyone |
For the segmentation to work, you need well-defined segments—not 200 individual cases, but a handful of clearly distinct groups. That’s exactly what target audience segmentation is for.
Four pitfalls that can undermine the effect
- Measure everything, decide nothing. A dashboard full of metrics without any resulting actions is just for show.
- Personalization without permission. Customers share data—but only in exchange for a clear benefit and with a transparent explanation.
- An offer for everyone. If everyone gets the same discount, you’re essentially subsidizing those who would have bought anyway—even though 62 % explicitly expect personalized offers (Loyalty Report 2026).
- Analyze it once, and then move on. Life events shift your motivation, time, and budget. A segment from two years ago describes someone else today.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions About the Purchase Decision Process
What is the purchasing decision-making process?
The purchasing decision-making process describes all the stages that customers go through, from recognizing a need to making a purchase and their behavior afterward. Traditionally, there are five steps: problem recognition, information search, evaluation, purchase, and post-purchase phase. In practice today, this process is not linear but rather a loop with many entry and exit points.
What are the 5 „Mys“?
The 5 Mys are five driving factors from the KPMG framework Me, My Life, My Wallet: My Motivation (values and expectations), My Attention (attention), My Connection (connectivity with devices, information, and people), My Watch (time), and My Wallet (budget or share of wallet). Source: KPMG Global Customer Insights, „Me, My Life, My Wallet“.
How does AI influence the purchasing decision-making process?
AI primarily shifts the information-gathering and evaluation phase. Instead of numerous search results, consumers receive a summarized recommendation. About 70 % of German consumers have already used AI for product or price research, 54 % received recommendations they would not have considered without AI, and 48 % of AI users have already made decisions based solely on AI-generated information. Source: EY-Parthenon, „When AI Does the Shopping“ (n = 1,015, Germany, early 2026).
What information do I need to use the 5 Mys?
You don't need a big data department. Transaction data, visit frequency, channel and engagement behavior, redeemed rewards, and a few targeted survey responses are enough to get started. A digital customer loyalty program provides these signals anyway—you just have to bring them all together.
Does this concept work for small businesses as well?
Yes, and often faster there. Smaller businesses know their customers personally and can directly test hypotheses about motivation or time windows. The 5 Mys simply provide a framework for this gut feeling, allowing it to be systematically utilized and shared.
Conclusion: Understanding is the new reach
The purchasing decision-making process has become more complex, not more difficult to understand. It proceeds in loops, across multiple devices, and now also through AI systems that no one from the outside can see into. The solution isn’t a bigger advertising budget, but a better model: The 5 „M’s“—motivation, attention, networking, time, and budget—break down a seemingly unpredictable decision into five questions that you can actually answer.
The crucial step is the translation: every “My” into a data point, every data point into a metric. When you do this, you stop guessing what customers want and start knowing it—well before the decision is made. And along the way, you create exactly what is hardest to replace in a world of algorithms and summaries: a direct relationship.
