No abstract

Despite the prevalence of single-serve and multi-serve package formats in the pharmaceutical and functional food and beverage industries, prior research has yet to explore the effects of such package formats on consumers' perceptions of product efficacy. Building on the resource availability, product packaging, and psychological closure literature, the authors demonstrate across seven studies that when processing capacity is low, consuming a particular serving/dosage of a product from a smaller resource inventory (i.e., the entirety of a single-serve package) may subjectively feel more adequate than consuming the same amount from a larger resource inventory (i.e., a multi-serve package, namely one in which additional servings/doses remain after consumption). Results indicate that differences in felt consumption closure underlie perceptions of product adequacy. Importantly, perceived product adequacy is shown to affect consumers' actual product efficacy experiences (i.e., task performance), expectancies, and judgments. The implications of this research for marketers, consumers, and the public health community are discussed.

Purpose While the popularity of online shopping has increased in recent years, surprisingly little research has examined the factors affecting consumers’ behavior in this context. Furthermore, though a widespread problem for companies, the phenomenon of online shopping cart abandonment has garnered even less attention. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of consumers’ mindsets in online shopping cart abandonment. Design/methodology/approach Three experimental studies were conducted to examine the effect of consumer mindsets (i.e. abstract vs concrete) on purchase intentions. Findings Results indicate that consumers who have an abstract (as opposed to concrete) mindset when shopping online rate the products they include in their shopping carts to be more important, and consequently are more likely to purchase them, reducing shopping cart abandonment. Practical implications The findings suggest that online retailers can reduce shopping cart abandonment by implementing strategies that allow consumers to think abstractly. Originality/value This research contributes to the literature by identifying an important underlying mechanism affecting online shopping cart abandonment.

This research demonstrates that a consumer's physical appearance—and, more specifically, his or her body size—predictably influences the product(s) that the consumer is recommended. Four studies conducted in both field and lab settings show that agents more frequently recommend round (vs. angular) shaped products to heavier targets, notably for products and categories in which body size is irrelevant (e.g., lamps and perfume). We attribute this to a combination of shape‐congruency and trait‐congruency, whereby individuals choose products for others based on shared dimensions of the person and product.

No abstract