Abstract
This research aimed to explore how consumers’ purchase behavior varies when they are faced with unavailable options in a non-comparable choice set. We investigated the unavailable effect based on goal-related mindsets theory and found that consumers with an activated which-to-buy mindset show higher purchase intention for the remaining options relative to those who have a whether-to-buy mindset. Four between-subject experiments were undertaken. Study 1 (including two experiments, both two groups) depicted the relationship between the mindset and consumer purchase choice. Study 2 examined the construal level as the underlying mechanism. Two further studies enabled two methods, such as shopping cart state and payment type, to activate different mindsets and found the boundary conditions of each method. Study 3 found that empty cart (vs. non-empty cart) activate whether-to-buy mindset restraining purchase intention, while the habitual (vs. non-habitual) initial purchase moderated the shopping cart effect. Study 4 found that paying by gift cards (vs. gifted cash) primed which-to-buy mindset increasing purchase intention, while the payment effect declined when the product was high in feasibility (vs. desirability). The insights gained from this research can guide both online and offline retailers in how to strategically manage consumer mindsets under unavailable circumstances. Optimal presenting timing and method of unavailable information may activate a different mindset and help boost sales of the remaining options at the same time.
Highlights
When making purchase decisions, consumers often face situations where certain options are sold out but are still presented to them, for example in online purchasing, especially when large discounts are on offer, as stocks disappear sellers mark options as unavailable using an “out-ofstock” stamp
Since the features of options within a non-comparable choice set are hard to rank, if participants focus on comparing the features of different options after having a which-to-buy mindset activated, the likelihood of purchasing the remaining options would increase
Participants paying by gift card showed higher purchase intention (M = 4.95, SD = 1.57) for the remaining options than those paying with gifted cash (M = 4.33, SD = 1.76)
Summary
Consumers often face situations where certain options are sold out but are still presented to them, for example in online purchasing, especially when large discounts are on offer, as stocks disappear sellers mark options as unavailable using an “out-ofstock” stamp. The unavailable option effect on consumer decision-making has aroused some research interest over the years (Kivetz and Simonson, 2000; Choplin and Hummel, 2005; Pettibone and Wedell, 2007; Chuang et al, 2012). Some studies show that adding an option that asymmetrically dominates a targeted alternative, while being unavailable, increases preference for the target in the original choice set (Choplin and Hummel, 2005; Pettibone and Wedell, 2007). The contexts above are all focused on the comparable attributes of products, The Unavailable Effect in Non-comparable Choice Sets such as quality and price, which can be ranked with certain rules (Nowlis and Simonson, 1997). Realizing both the theoretical gap and practical relevance, we aim to examine this issue
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