Purchase decision and purchase delay of hedonic and utilitarian products in the face of time pressure and multiplicity of options.

AutorBasso, Kenny

Introduction

The accumulation of jobs and duties often leads to a lack of time for daily tasks. Among the many activities that may be affected by this lack of time are the matters of consumer behavior, such as the choice and acquisition of products and services. Time pressure is a frequent restraint in daily decisions and consumers are also affected by this limitation (Javed & Javed, 2015; Madan, Spetch, & Ludvig, 2015). Along with the lack of time, time pressure is usually considered a stress factor (Kim & Kim, 2008; Denton, 1994) and is characterized by quick decision making and judgments and, in the case of consumer activities, it reduces the time for analysis of the options and pondering of benefits and disadvantages of each alternative. Young, Goodie, Hall, and Wu (2012) emphasizes that time pressure influences the quality of consumer decisions because it limits the capacity of processing information (Vlasic, Jankovic, & Kramo-Caluk, 2011).

Beyond the lack of time, in the processes of acquiring new products and services, it is also necessary to deal with the amount of options offered and with the ways of analyzing these options to ensure the best choice. The combination of lack of time with choice overload might generate stress for the consumer, causing the decision to delay the purchase (Ackerman & Gross, 2003). This delay may be caused by the perception of lack of sufficient time to analyze the options and make the decision and also by a feeling of loss, future regret and future regret over a quickly made choice.

Park and Jang (2013) state that consumers must deal with a great number of options for their choices and it may lead to negative consequences, such as inertia and regret. For Tang, Hsieh, and Chiu (2017), a great variety of options might deter the consumer from making the purchase and also time pressure might limit the capacity of processing all the information necessary for making a choice (Vlasic et al., 2011).

However, not all products/services are of the same nature, which is another factor that interferes in the decision-making process, in addition to time pressure and choice overload. Products and services may be considered hedonic or utilitarian according to their characteristics and purchase context (Dhar & Wertenbroch, 2000; Okada, 2005). Utilitarian consumption refers to items that are a priority for meeting certain purposes; hedonic consumption refers to items that bring emotions, enjoyment and pleasure through their use or possession (Hirschman & Holbrook, 1982; Dhar & Wertenbroch, 2000; Yim, Yoo, Sauer, & Seo, 2014).

Although the studies of Ackerman and Gross (2003) emphasize the relationship between the number of options and time pressure on purchase delay, they do not clarify if the nature of the consumption (hedonic or utilitarian) influences this relationship. Therefore, the present paper seeks to understand the moderating role played by the nature of the consumption (hedonic or utilitarian) in the relationship between the interaction (time pressure x multiplicity of options) and choice postponement. The first part of the work presents the concepts and theoretical principles that guide the research and, therefore, the hypothesis of the paper. The experimental method is also discussed. Subsequently, the results of the experimental study are presented. Next, the results are discussed and, thereafter, the implications and limitations of the work and suggestions for future research are presented.

Theoretical framework

Time pressure

All consumer activities deal with the element of time and, consequently, the relations with time are often applied to better understand consumer behavior (Miyazaki, 1993). Several authors have studied the relationships between time pressure, the purchase decision process and the processing of information (Hahn, Lawson, & Lee, 1992; Dhar & Nowlis, 1999; Lin & Wu, 2005; Teng, Huang, & Yeh, 2007; Tonetto, Rohenkohl, & Stein, 2008).

Hahn, Lawson, and Lee (1992) state that time pressure reduces the quality of the decision in situations of information overload. Lin and Wu (2005) assert that, considering consumer preferences situations, time pressure influences the effects of commitment and attraction, weakening the effects of commitment and strengthening the effects of attraction. Time pressure can also nullify the framing effect in consumer decisions, removing the impact of the presentation (gain vs loss) over the decision making (Tonetto et al., 2008).

For Rothstein (1986), time pressure can be defined as a sequence of time intervals within which a series of judgments and dynamic decisions must be quickly made. Godinho, Prada, and Garrido (2016) define time pressure as the perceived cost of a lack of time. Even if time pressure is, to a certain extent, natural to people's lives, it is usually considered a stress factor (Kim & Kim, 2008; Denton, 1994).

A restriction in time might affect consumer preferences and behavior, with time pressure causing the consumer to make quick choices that might fail to satisfy their needs (Javed & Javed, 2015). When a consumer is under time pressure, the delay of purchase decision is lower, granting that the time restriction leads the individual to opt for one of the options available, instead of postponing the choice (Dhar & Nowlis, 1999). The postponement of the decision involves the perception of needing more time for the evaluation and analysis of the alternatives or, even, the refusal to make a decision due to the possibility of future losses.

Under time pressure, consumers simplify the decision-making process, spending less time in each piece of information and selectively focusing on the most important items (Wood & Neal, 2009). Along the same line, Chang and Chen (2015) argue that under time pressure the consumer might better select the information by assigning more value to important information and less value to irrelevant cues. Under time pressure, individuals make their decisions based on a strict set of attributes, making choices that are more utilitarian (Godinho, Prada, & Garrido, 2016).

On a day-to-day basis, many decisions are made under time pressure, without enough time to ponder benefits and disadvantages, because time pressure regulates the amount of information that can be processed (Pieters & Warlop, 1999; Lin, Sun, Chuang, & Su, 2008). Consumers seem to apply at least three strategies to deal with time pressure: accelerating the acquisition of information, filtering parts of the information available and/or changing the strategy for information acquisition (Pieters & Warlop, 1999).

Multiplicity of options

When given a choice between a small and a large variety of products, consumers tend to prefer great variety, because it brings benefits, such as flexibility to adapt to environmental changes, a more fun experience and the increase in the probability of satisfying a certain need; however, surprisingly, consumers report less satisfaction with the products chosen among a set with great variety than with those chosen from small assortments (Messner & Wanke, 2011).

A great number of choices might seem beneficial to the consumer. However, the paradox of choice indicates that great variety may bring negative consequences to the decision maker (Tang, Hsieh, & Chiu, 2017). Throughout the various consumption situations, the individual is subjected to an overload of data or options when seeking for information, which may alter one's behavior, due to a load of data that is greater than the processing capacity (Jacoby, 1977; Malhotra, 1982; Dhar, Nowlis, & Sherman, 2000; Sheth, Mittal, & Newman, 2001). The overload of options, or multiplicity of options, is therefore defined as a negative effect caused by the excess of information.

Jacoby (1977) stresses that individuals have a limited capacity to process information and that the overload of information makes people confused, less efficient and less precise. For Malhotra (1982) consumers exposed to an overload of options tend to adopt simplifying strategies to make a choice, instead of through considering each option.

Studies demonstrate that the analysis of a high amount of information leads to a lack of optimization in the decision to purchase (Anderson, Taylor, & Holloway, 1966; Jacoby, 1977; Malhotra, 1982; Keller & Staelin, 1987; Hahn et al., 1992; Greifeneder, Scheibehenne, & Kleber, 2010).

Anderson, Taylor, and Holloway (1966) argue that, as the number of options increases, the consumer experiences a high degree of anxiety and discomfort to make the decision. Keller and Staelin (1987) also emphasize that great amounts of information diminish the precision of the consumer choice. Greifeneder, Scheibehenne, and Kleber (2010) consider the effects of the excess of option related to the complexity of the choice.

Kuksov and Villas-Boas (2010) show that a few alternatives may lead the individual to avoid choosing a specific option and, when many options are offered, the search and the processing of information are high, leading the individual to realize that evaluations may be too costly, preventing them from making a choice. Jilke, Van Ryzin, and Van de Walle (2016) state that increasing the number of options reduces the probability of a choice being made.

In big assortments, with differences and variety of options, complexity increases along with the number of options because not only more alternatives are presented, but also more attributes that need to be memorized (Greifeneder et al., 2010; Messner & Wanke, 2011). A greater number of options increase the perceived cost of lower satisfaction with the choice (Szrek, 2017). Rogge (2017) also stated that the quality of the choice also decreases with a higher number of options.

Chernev, Bockenholt, and Goodman (2015) argued that a greater variety of options may lead to the postponement of the choice...

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