Abstract
Consumption ritual plays a critical role in shaping consumer dining experiences. However, the impact of consumption ritual on different types of diners is not well understood. The present study seeks to understand how consumption ritual can be leveraged to market dining experiences to group versus solo diners and the underlying psychological processes. Study 1 shows that, while the presence of consumption ritual boosts purchase intention among group diners, it dampens purchase intention among solo diners. Such opposing effects are driven by the anticipated pleasure of the food consumption experience. Study 2 shows that the negative influence of consumption ritual on solo diners can be mitigated through table distancing. Results from the serial mediation analyses indicate that anticipated psychological discomfort and anticipated pleasure drive the effects of consumption ritual among solo diners but not among group diners. Findings offer practitioners insights regarding how to utilize consumption ritual in designing dining experiences.
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