Income effects on relative importance of two online purchase goals: Saving time versus saving money?

Abstract

The premise of the article is that income levels influence the relative importance of two objectives most consumers identify as reasons for shopping online, namely, saving time and saving money. The paper proposes and examines twin hypotheses that higher-income consumers may be more interested in saving time, while lower-income consumers may be more interested in saving money. The results show that higher-income consumers exhibit a greater tendency toward saving time than lower-income consumers, while the relationship between income level and saving money is less certain. The findings have important implications for marketing managers and public policy makers. Marketing managers need to be aware of the relative importance of saving time versus saving money to online shoppers while selecting the product assortment to be made available online. Public policy makers want to educate lower-income consumers on the importance of having saving money as an important shopping goal.