Mental accounting and small windfalls
evidence from an online grocer
Edición de la obra Mental accounting and small windfalls
| Autor | Katherine L. Milkman |
|---|---|
| Editorial | Division of Research, Harvard Business School, Harvard Business School |
| Fecha de publicación | 2007 |
| Lugar | Boston] |
| Idioma | inglés |
| Páginas | 40 |
| OCLC | 182946317, 227286035 |
| Serie | Working paper / Division of Research, Harvard Business School -- 08-024 · Working paper (Harvard Business School. Division of Research) -- 08-024 |
| Número de Cutter | M644m |
We study the effect of small windfalls on consumer spending decisions by examining the purchasing behavior of a sample of online grocery shoppers over the course of a year. We compare the purchases customers make when redeeming a $10-off coupon they received from their online grocer with the purchases the same customers make when shopping without a coupon. The standard permanent income or lifecycle theory of consumption predicts that grocery spending will be unaffected by the use of a $10-off coupon, while a simple mental accounting framework predicts that such a coupon will increase spending on groceries. Controlling for customer fixed effects and other relevant variables, we find that grocery spending increases by $1.59 with the use of a $10-off coupon.