So Close, Yet So Far Away: The Influence of Temporal Distance on Mobile Promotion Redemption during a Shopping Experience

Consumers have traditionally been exposed to price promotions either before entering a store or at the moment of choice (Blattberg, Briesch, and Fox 1995). Yet, with the proliferation of consumer facing technology, such as smartphones or smart shopping carts, retailers and manufacturers have a greater level of flexibility as to when to present shoppers with promotions during a shopping experience. This research contributes by examining the role of the temporal distance between the promotional offer and the promoted product and its influence on redemption likelihood, product perceptions, and spending behavior. Priming literature states that promotional offers should be transient, which suggests that shoppers are more likely to redeem a promotion when it is encountered closer to the purchase decision for the promoted product (Crowder 1976). However, temporal construal theory suggests that the temporal distance between the promotion and the promoted product positively influences consumer perceptions about the product (Liberman, Sagristano, and Trope 2002). Specifically, when decisions are perceived to be temporally distant, individuals construe these decisions in terms of abstract, high-level terms, while more temporally proximal decisions are based in concrete, low-level considerations (Liberman and Trope 1998). Temporal distance increases the influence of the value of high-level construals, while reducing the value of low-level construals, in consumer purchase decisions and evaluations.