Usage Frequency Neglect

Most people will agree that, except for products like a sunroof whose mere ownership can be a source of enjoyment, consumers must consider how often they expect to use whatever they intend to buy. Yet we show that consumers may fail to do so. It is well established that consumers often construct their preferences on the spot (Bettman, Luce, and Payne 1998). Now, usually there is nothing in the product itself or in the shopping environment to prompt consumers to consider usage frequency. Moreover, it is unlikely that consumers will spontaneously consider usage frequency, because research in psychology has shown that decisions are driven mostly by information that is explicitly presented (Kahneman and Frederick 2002; Legrenzi, Girotto, and Johnson-Laird 1993). Therefore, we suggest that consumers may neglect usage frequency when making a purchase decision. There is evidence that consumers can indeed neglect critical information when considering a purchase. For example, Frederick et al. (2009) reported several studies in which consumers neglected opportunity costs when making a purchase decision. If, while making a purchase decision, consumers indeed neglect (or underweight) how often they expect to use the product they consider buying as we hypothesize, then interventions that bring to mind usage frequency shall influence their choices. Three studies support our hypothesis.