KEY:
Even though people SAY they like the fun
and pleasure item more, they are far more likely to choose
the functional choice. It's not what people say but what
they do that matters in influence and selling.
As part
of her research, Okada tracked consumers' consumption and
preference patterns for desserts at a restaurant. When given
the choice between Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake, described
as a "rich treat with Bailey's Irish Cream, Oreo cookies
and chocolate chips all blended in," and the Cheesecake
deLite, described as a "savory healthy alternative
to cheesecake, made of low fat cream cheese and egg whites,"
diners chose the second option because, said Okada, they
viewed it as more utilitarian and thus less likely to cause
guilty feelings.
When
each dessert was presented as the only option on successive
nights, the two were equally preferred, but when presented
jointly on the same menu, the utilitarian dessert was consistently
preferred over the hedonic.
"People
by nature are motivated to have fun," said Okada. "However,
having fun also raises such issues as guilt and the need
for justification. A sense of guilt may arise in anticipation,
or as a result, of making an unjustifiable choice. An alternative
may seem unjustifiable if there is a sense of guilt associated
with it. It's easier for people to justify consumption that
is fairly necessary, and more difficult to justify consumption
that is relatively discretionary."
If given
a choice between purchasing a new DVD player with a built
in MP3 player or buying a new food processor seen elsewhere
in a store, consumers will more likely buy the DVD player
because of its more hedonistic appeal. But if a consumer
visits an electronic appliance store with $100 to spend
and can buy either the DVD player or the food processor,
the food processor is the more likely choice. Okada speculates
that people are more reflective and thoughtful about choice
when multiple options are present, which tends to favor
the "should" option over the "want."
In addition,
Okada found that the difference in the need for justification
also affects the combination of time, or effort, and money
that people choose to expend in order to acquire hedonic
versus utilitarian items.
KEY:
People have a relative preference to pay in time for hedonic
goods, and in money for utilitarian goods.
"Consumers
are generally willing to pay a premium for convenience,
and go the distance for a bargain," she said. "Given
a choice between paying in time versus money, individuals
are more likely to go the extra mile and find a good deal
on the DVD player - that is, pay in time - and more likely
to pay a higher price monetarily at a convenient location
for the food processor."
Okada's
paper appears in the February issue of Journal of Marketing
Research.
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