Why do consumers procrastinate and what happens next?

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine the factors leading to and resulting from procrastination under high price uncertainty and provide recommendations for how managers can reduce consumer procrastination, thus decreasing consumer regret, anger and retaliatory behaviors. Design/methodology/approach Hypothesized relationships were tested through two scenario-based experiments using student samples. Data was analyzed using general linear model, path analysis and Wald chi-square test. Findings Long time limits, price uncertainty and price consciousness, all increase the likelihood of procrastination. Prestige seeking reduces procrastination, but only when time limits are short. When one delays a purchase and later the price of the item gets increased or one makes a purchase and later the price gets further reduced, procrastination and purchase decision both equally can lead to anger, which then increases the probability of exit, voice or word of mouth (WOM); however, procrastination has a much stronger impact than deciding to purchase on self-responsibility and regret, which in turn increases negative WOM. Research limitations/implications This paper provides a greater understanding of antecedents and consequences of procrastination as well as the drivers of retaliatory behavior. Further, the findings highlight differential consequences of consumer regret and anger on consumption behaviors. Practical implications This paper provides practical suggestions for reducing consumers’ procrastination through leveraging the effects of purchase time limit and price uncertainty in general, and more specifically, for prestige-seeker and price conscious consumers. The findings provide evidence for a silent path from procrastination to retaliation and highlight the importance of possible remedies or interventions by the companies to mitigate consumer emotions resulting from procrastination. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to apply temporal motivation theory in the context of consumer behavior under price uncertainty, and examine consequences of consumer procrastination in terms of thoughts, feelings and retaliatory behavior.