The Impact of Effort on Consumers’ Willingness-To-Pay in Hedonic Vs. Utilitarian Purchases

This research investigates the impact of effort on consumers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) in hedonic vs. utilitarian purchases. We propose that effort can generally increase consumers’ WTP, and more importantly and interestingly, effort will have a higher impact on consumers’ WTP of hedonic than utilitarian products. This and other related predications are tested in a series of studies using both hypothetical and real effort tasks and various products in different price ranges. Finally, we discuss the implications of the findings for marketing managers and for the literature of pricing and self-control.

Citation:

Yuhuang Zheng and Luqiong Tong (2011) ,"The Impact of Effort on Consumers’ Willingness-To-Pay in Hedonic Vs. Utilitarian Purchases", in AP - Asia-Pacific Advances in Consumer Research Volume 9, eds. Zhihong Yi, Jing Jian Xiao, and June Cotte and Linda Price, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 152-152.