Why purchase predictions are hard to answer
“Would you buy this?” sounds like a direct way to test an idea. But the person answering has not yet faced the price, competing options, timing or distractions of a real purchase. They may genuinely like the concept while having little reason to act on it. A polite “yes” can also be easier to give than a detailed objection, especially when the interviewer seems invested in the idea.
Customer interviews are often more useful when they examine a decision that already happened. A past event gives both people something concrete to discuss: what prompted the search, what the customer tried, what alternatives they considered and where they stopped. The goal is not to treat memory as a perfect record. It is to move from a broad prediction toward a specific account that can be explored with follow-up questions.
Anchor the conversation in a recent event
Start with a situation rather than a verdict on your product. If you are exploring a tool for planning household meals, you might ask, “Tell me about the last time you planned meals for a busy week.” Then invite the person to walk through what happened from the beginning. When did they realize they needed a plan? What did they use? Who else was involved? What, if anything, did they pay for?
A recent example is usually easier to describe in detail than a typical week. If the first answer is general—“I usually make a list”—ask for one particular occasion: “Which week comes to mind?” or “What was on the list that time?” Allow room for a surprising answer, including “I didn’t make a plan.” That absence of action may tell you something about priorities or constraints, but it is worth asking why before drawing a conclusion.
Explore the decision, including the alternatives
Once you have an event, follow the sequence without turning the interview into a quiz. Useful prompts include “What made you decide to deal with it then?”, “What did you try first?” and “What happened next?” Ask what the person compared, postponed or chose not to do. An existing workaround—such as a shared note, a spreadsheet or help from a friend—may be more relevant competition than a similar product.
Listen for trade-offs the customer actually faced. Did saving time matter more than saving money? Was a familiar option preferable to learning a new one? Avoid supplying the reasons yourself with questions such as “Was the app too complicated?” A more open prompt is “What made you stop using it?” If the person cannot remember a detail, leave it uncertain rather than suggesting an answer. A pause can be more informative than a guess made to keep the conversation moving.
Separate interest from evidence of action
People can describe a problem vividly without making it a priority. To understand its place in their lives, ask what they have already done about it. Have they searched for solutions, changed a routine, asked someone for help or spent money? How much effort did the most recent attempt require? These questions do not prove that someone will purchase a new offering, but they help distinguish a passing annoyance from an issue that has prompted action.
You can still show a concept later in the interview, provided you label the response for what it is: a reaction to an idea, not a purchase. Ask what seems unclear, what situation might make it relevant and how it compares with the way they handled the last event. Keep those answers separate from accounts of past behavior in your notes. Otherwise, an appealing response to a mock-up can quietly turn into an unsupported claim about demand.
Use the account carefully when making decisions
After several interviews, look across accounts for recurring situations and points of friction. Note the differences too: one person may need a solution frequently, while another encounters the problem only rarely. Record concrete actions alongside the participant’s interpretation of them. “Used a shared note twice last week” gives a different kind of evidence from “I care about being organized”; both may be useful, but they answer different questions.
Interview accounts are limited by memory, the questions asked and whom you chose to speak with. They cannot, on their own, establish how common a behavior is across an audience or guarantee future sales. Their strength is in revealing how decisions unfold and which assumptions deserve further testing. When planning a next step, frame it as a question: for example, whether simplifying a time-consuming task changes what people do. That keeps the research connected to decisions without asking an interview to predict the future.
