Methodology for organizing and conducting a study to assess consumer ability

A technique is proposed for determining the characteristics of user behavior (their needs, purchasing activity and cost structure) depending on the change and catastrophization of the situation. To perform semi-natural studies (surveys in a game form) in the field of behavioral economics, a stand was created based on the information technology of digital avatar assistants. The use of the stand makes it possible to simulate real life situations during which participants need to make purchases for the next week every in-game week, taking into account their own ideas about the situation which is modeled by presenting messages to participants in the format of a mobile application news feed. After providing game information (stimulus material), participants must answer questions about their subjective attitude to the stability of the current game situation: about well-being, about interest in each specific news, about the tendency to impulsive purchases in a stressful situation, about consumer activity, about possible in-game plans for future. The use of a mobile application based on the information technology of digital assistants-avatars for the purpose of collecting and analyzing user data is proposed. A methodology for organizing and conducting a study to assess consumer ability has been developed. The methodology includes the following steps: preparation and collection of preliminary (pre-game) information about the target audience; conducting research with the provision of stimulus material (information content) which describes the situation in the environment (world, country, city, etc.); providing options for choosing further actions for the user as a consumer. The developed methodology makes it possible to identify the features of consumer behavior and the structure of consumption in the general sample of users in the context of event dynamics. It becomes possible to determine the strategy of consumer behavior and the mistakes that participants make during the game.