The relationship between purchase regularity and propensity to accelerate

Identifying random and regular-buying household segments and relating them to demographic and shopping characteristics has been the focus of many marketing studies. Missing from the marketing literature, however, is a study that relates purchase regularity to marketing mix sensitivities. Such study could provide substantive implications since it would explore a practical dimension of a segmentation scheme based on purchase regularity. In this article, we investigate the relationship between purchase regularity and propensity to accelerate through the use of a mixture Weibull model of purchase timing. Applying this perspective to purchase timing data on four product categories (ketchup, sugar, bathroom tissue, margarine), we show that in the frequently purchased categories of bathroom tissue and margarine, random buyers do not exhibit any propensity to accelerate while regular buyers do. In the occasionally purchased categories of ketchup and sugar on the other hand, random buyers exhibit at least as much propensity to accelerate their purchases as regular buyers do. Our rationale for these results is based on information-theoretic arguments suggesting that propensity to accelerate depends on the frequency at which a product category is purchased.     

Understanding consumer services buyers based upon their purchase channel

Consumer services such as airlines and hotels include a proliferation of bookings through Internet-proprietary and Internet-third party sites. The other dominant channel for making airline and hotel purchases is via telephone. This research investigates differences in how buyers utilize the three channels in terms of internal and external price search, number of alternatives searched, brand loyalty, purchase frequency, risk of unavailability at the time of purchase, and Internet experience and usage. Results indicate that telephone buyers employ the least external search, consider the fewest number of alternatives during search, are the most brand loyal, are the most frequent buyers, and perceive the lowest level of risk of unavailability at the time of purchase. Conversely, Internet-third party buyers utilize the most external search, consider the largest number of alternatives, are the least brand loyal, are the least frequent buyers, and perceive the highest level of risk of unavailability. Managerial implications and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Examining impacts of negative reviews and purchase goals on consumer purchase decision

Extensive literature has studied the impact of positive online reviews on consumers’ purchase decisions. Research on the role of negative reviews in consumer price perception is heavily under-investigated. This study examines effects of negative reviews on consumer price perception and subsequent purchase behavior while considering the moderating effect of purchase goals. Results from two experiments show that the proportion of negative reviews has stronger negative impacts on purchase decision for consumers with a purchase goal than those without. This research contributes to growing knowledge about negative online reviews and consumer goal literature and offers practical implications for online retailers.     

反感性广告的知觉建构和购买意向研究

广告的反感性会影响消费者的品牌购买意向,面对明显性暗示的反感性广告,消费者的知觉建构是多维度的,消极的知觉建构可以降低产品购买意向,积极的知觉建构可以增强产品购买意向。     

Combining value and price to make purchase decisions in business markets

The authors investigate how purchasing managers combine information about product offerings' values and prices to make purchase decisions. The results of two field studies show that managers do not regard monetarily-equivalent changes in value and price to be the same. Using reference-dependent theory, the authors show that, rather than a single utility function, separate functions for value and price appear to underlie purchasing managers' decisions. The authors also address means of inducing managers to choose higher-valued, higher-priced product offerings.     

The role of mobile value and trust as drivers of purchase intentions in m-servicescape

Building on the premises of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), this study introduces the concept of mobile servicescape (m-servicescape) and explores the drivers of purchase intentions in the mobile service environment. Data were collected from a sample of 284 service mobile users and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results show that the dimensions of m-servicescape (i.e., aesthetic appeal, perceived security, and layout and functionality) generate mobile value (i.e., hedonic and utilitarian), which in turn, leads to user purchase intentions. Utilitarian value was found to have a higher effect on purchase intentions than hedonic value and trust was found to enhance this effect. We highlight theoretical contributions and offer managerial insight for mobile marketers and designers on the specificities of consumer behavior in the service mobile environment.     

Virtual test-driving: The impact of simulated products on purchase intention

This paper studies a number of key determinants of users׳ experience and engagement when driving a simulated car model, the outcome of this engagement in relation to enjoyment and satisfaction and the role of user satisfaction in purchasing the actual product. We test a holistic model using an experimental quantitative approach. Our analysis suggests that hedonic experience may create higher levels of engagement among users of the simulated car. Enjoyment and engagement were found to positively influence user satisfaction while driving the simulated car. In turn, user satisfaction with the simulated car was found to positively influence purchasing intention for the actual car. Our work has shown how a simulation based on widely available technologies can provide a foundation for the development of a relationship between a user and the simulated product. Consequently, our research findings have significant theoretical and practical implications beyond the auto-manufacturing industry, as experiencing simulated products can play an important role in the context of electronic commerce. This is especially true given the increasingly important role ‘experience’ plays in electronic marketing.     

Influence of congruity in store-attribute dimensions and self-image on purchase intentions in online stores of multichannel retailers

Online stores of multichannel retailers continue to lag pure internet retailers with reference to consumers' shopping intentions and sales. This study develops and tests a framework in which (a) trust and attitude (conceptualized as a second-order construct with hedonic and utilitarian dimensions) influence purchase intentions, (b) congruity between the multichannel retailer's land-based and online stores (conceptualized as a second-order constructs made up of seven dimensions: aesthetic appeal, navigation convenience, transaction convenience, atmosphere, service, price orientation, and security) influences trust in and attitude toward the online store, and (c) congruity between consumers' self-image and perceived image of the online store influences trust in and attitude toward the online store. The findings provide robust support for the framework and have strong implications for theory and practice.     

Effects of price uncertainty on consumer purchase budget and price thresholds

This article examines how uncertainty about prices affects: (1) the budget consumers allocate for purchasing a product and (2) consumer price thresholds (i.e., the prices that are considered too high or a good deal). In an experimental setting, the purchase budget as well as the absolute values of both thresholds for uncertain subjects were higher than those for certain subjects. Moreover, a relatively large decline from the budget was needed before a price was considered a good deal, whereas a relatively small increase from the budget was sufficient for a price to be considered too high. Price uncertainty widened the difference between the upper (i.e., too high) price threshold and the budget, making uncertain subjects more tolerant to prices exceeding the budget than certain subjects. However, price uncertainty did not have a significant effect on the difference between the budget and the lower (i.e., good deal) price threshold.We wish to thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft. We also thank Professors S. P. Raj and Amiya Basu for their comments and suggestions at various stages of the study.     

The role of perceived product quality and overall satisfaction on purchase intentions

The study investigated the effects of perceived product quality and overall satisfaction on purchase intentions. Moreover, the direct and indirect effects of values and involvement on purchase intentions were studied. The study utilized the survey questionnaire and used sport shoes as the product being researched. The sample consisted of 197 students who responded to an anonymous questionnaire. Five hypotheses were tested and four of them were confirmed by the data. Perceived quality had a direct and an indirect effect (through overall satisfaction) on purchase intentions, overall satisfaction had a direct effect on purchase intentions and involvement had an indirect effect on purchase intentions through overall satisfaction and perceived quality. The results of the study provide several theoretical and practical implications.     

The influence of visually dynamic imagery on purchase intentions: The roles of arousal and lay rationalism

The presence of motion is increasingly common in online advertising. Despite the increase in spending on digital advertisements and decades of academic research on dynamic imagery in advertising, our understanding of this phenomenon remains limited. The dynamic default hypothesis posits that animated imagery should generate more arousal than comparable static imagery. However, research on advertisements containing dynamic imagery reveal inconsistencies in their ability to stimulate arousal. A potential explanation for these inconsistent findings lies in the behavioral urgency hypothesis, which postulates that not all motion is weighted equally in terms of its ability to generate arousal. We conduct three experiments to test this proposition. Interestingly, our findings show that imagery appearing to loom closer to consumers stimulates greater levels of arousal than either static or imagery appearing to recede away from consumers. Additionally, our work identifies moderating effects of lay rationalism which can work to strengthen or attenuate these effects. Together, this work provides a more comprehensive explanation for the varied findings in the literature.     

The impact of cross border E-tailer's return policy on consumer's purchase intention

Based on the signaling theory, cue utilization theory and halo effect theory, this paper establishes a theoretical model of the impact of return policy leniency on consumer purchase intention in the context of cross-border e-commerce (CBEC). The model is verified by the experimental data. Moreover, the mediating role of perceived quality and perceived risk and the moderating effects of port of shipment and product traceability code are significant. The results show that in the CBEC scenario, when the online retailers adopt a lenient return policy, the consumers have higher perceived quality and lower perceived risk, which in turn leads to a higher intention to purchase; When a consumer purchases the product which ships from domestic bonded warehouse or a product without a product traceability code present, the effect of the leniency of return policy on perceived quality and perceived risk is stronger.     

Strategy and response to purchase intention questions

Purchase intention and willingness-to-pay (WTP) questions are often analyzed without considering that a respondent's utility maximizing answer need not correspond to a truthful answer. In this paper, we argue that individuals act, at least partially, in their own self-interest when answering survey questions. Consumers are conceptualized as thinking along two strategic dimensions when asked hypothetical purchase intention and WTP questions: (a) whether their response will influence the future price of a product and (b) whether their response will influence whether a product will actually be offered. Results provide initial evidence that strategic behavior may exist for some goods and some people.     

Social selling cues: The dynamics of posting numbers viewed and bought on customers' purchase intentions

Online retailers provide social selling cues, such as “39 customers bought this product” or “156 customers viewed our product per hour”, to encourage sales. Revealing the numbers bought has been shown to increase purchase intentions, but what remains unexplored are the ramifications of posting the number of brand-related views or revealing both numbers bought and viewed so customers can determine the views-to-bought ratio. The number of views is much higher than the numbers bought, which customers may anchor on as a signal for product quality; however, a countervailing force is that views are a more ambiguous, hence a less diagnostic, cue. Five experiments revealed that: (1) showing the number of views or bought can, but does not always, increase purchase intentions; (2) revealing the number bought has a monotonically increasing (at diminishing rate) effect on purchase intentions; and (3) views exhibit a concave curvilinear effect in that, beyond a tipping point, increasing the number of views lowers purchase intentions. Given the anchoring effect of the larger views number, if the number of views or the number bought are relatively low, it is better to show the larger views number, but the reverse is true if the respective numbers are both high. Additional insights reveal that it is only advantageous to reveal both numbers if the views-to-bought ratio is lower than 20:1, which would apply to about the top 25% of brand landing pages. These findings were further validated in a choice experiment. Perceptions of product quality mediate the relationship between these social selling cues and purchase intentions; however, this is not the case for perceived skepticism (lack of trust in the information). Revealing these social selling cues is an online retailer’s prerogative; hence, these insights are theoretically interesting and have practical relevance.     

An innovation resistance theory perspective on purchase of eco-friendly cosmetics

This study investigates the reasons for consumer resistance towards purchase of eco-friendly cosmetic products using the innovation resistance theory. Thus we extend the theory by exploring the moderating roles of environmental concern and health concern. An online survey method was used to collect the data from 350 consumers through Amazon Mechanical Turk. The findings reveal that all the barriers are significant inhibitors towards adoption of eco-friendly cosmetic products. Among these barriers, tradition and image barriers have the strongest inhibitory force on consumers' purchase intentions. However, environmental concern among consumers indicates that the negative influence of value and image barriers reduce consumers’ intention to purchase eco-friendly items, while health concern reduces the influence of tradition and risk barriers. The study findings have far reaching implications for scholars, cosmetic manufacturers, and retailers.     

Identifying the key purchase factors for organic food among Chinese consumers

The current study primarily aims to identify the critical purchase factors that affect Chinese consumer purchase intention and purchase decision with regard to organic food consumption, in accordance with a modified theory of planned behavior and the alphabet theory. Specifically, this study builds a conceptual research framework by which to delve into the relationships between purchase factors and purchase intention, and elucidate the mediating roles of purchase factors in the relationships between purchase intention and purchase decision. Moreover, by leveraging a modified theory of planned behavior and the alphabet theory, the current study also determines the critical roles of subjective norms and reveals the information and knowledge that impact consumer attitude toward the purchase of organic food. The current study leverages the purposive sampling method and captures 310 records within Beijing, China. The results indicate that purchase attitude correlates positively with subjective norms and knowledge, while purchase intention correlates positively with purchase attitude, perceived behavior control, and food therapy culture. Furthermore, purchase intention can significantly mediate relationships between each of purchase attitude, perceived behavior control, food therapy culture, and purchase decision. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical significance of the framework, and propose subsequent research directions regarding organic food purchase behavior.     

Private labels versus national brands: The effects of branding on sensory perceptions and purchase intentions

Consumers increasingly consider private labels to be as good as national brands. This research raises the question of whether national brands and private labels equally affect consumers’ sensory perceptions and purchase intentions. The results of two studies show that consumers reverse their evaluation of private labels (vs. national brands) when tasting the product in an informed (vs. blind) condition. When consumers are not aware of brand names, they indicate better taste and higher purchase intentions for private labels. However, the opposite is true when they try products in an informed condition. We discuss the implications for private labels and national brands.     

Background music tempo effects on food evaluations and purchase intentions

This article is a report of results of three studies investigating effects of fast versus slow background musical tempo on physiology, cognition, and emotions. Two pilot studies first measure consumer perceptions of tempo. In Studies 1 and 2, participants view a short video restaurant advertisement featuring fast or slow background music along with illustrations of food items. Results indicate that fast music is more effective than slow music for evoking positive taste expectations and purchase intentions. Study 3 shows that the effects observed in Studies 1 and 2 occur because fast music enhances self-reported arousal levels that then lead to enhanced moods, taste expectations, and purchase intentions. Theoretical implications regarding effects of music on emotional responses are discussed, as are practical managerial implications for using fast music as a persuasive technique.     

The rhythm of shopping: How background music placement in live streaming commerce affects consumer purchase intention

There is growing evidence indicating that background music has a significant impact on consumer purchasing behavior. However, there is limited research on the placement of background music in live streaming commerce. This study conducted a single-factor experiment with three conditions (playing during purchase phase, continuous playing, and control group) to investigate the effects on arousal, consumer memory, and purchase intention. Results show that live streaming with background music increase consumer's purchase intention and arousal. Specifically, background music playing during purchase phase leads to higher purchase intention and consumer memory than continuous playing. Continuous playing induces higher arousal than background music playing during purchase phase. Process measures reveal that playing during purchase phase (vs. continuous playing) reduces arousal, thus enhancing consumer memory and leads to higher purchase intention. Continuous playing, however, induces arousal but impairs consumer memory, subsequently leading to lower purchase intention.     

How background visual complexity influences purchase intention in live streaming: The mediating role of emotion and the moderating role of gender

There is growing evidence that visual complexity plays a crucial role in consumer purchase behavior. However, existing research on background visual complexity’s effect on individuals’ purchase intention in live streaming is limited. This study explores the relationships between live background visual complexity, emotional states, and purchase intention, by drawing on the stimulus-organism-response theory. A 3 × 2 between-subjects online experiment was developed with participants’ emotional and intention data. The results indicate that the background visual complexity of the livestream room influences consumers’ purchase intention positively via the evoked emotional states (pleasure and arousal). Background visual complexity exhibits an inverted U-shaped effect on consumers’ emotions. Additionally, the results reveal a significant moderating effect of gender on the relationship between background visual complexity and purchase intention. Women exhibit an inverted U-shaped effect on emotion and purchase intention, whereas men show a positive linear relationship when faced with complexity.