Rationalization lets consumers buy fun products

A new study conducted by a researcher at the University of Washington has found that, when choosing between practical and fun products, people are more likely to buy the fun product but only if they are able to rationalize their purchase.

Erica Okada, assistant professor of marketing and lead author of the study, products can be broadly placed into two categories -- 'hedonic' ones and practical ones.

When a utilitarian product and a hedonic product of equal value are rated separately the hedonic product receives higher ratings, but when asked to choose between them the utilitarian option is chosen more often.

As part of the study, Okada tracked consumers' preference for desserts at a restaurant. A cheesecake described as a "rich treat with Bailey's Irish Cream, Oreo cookies and chocolate chips all blended in" was chosen less often when offered side by side with a cheesecake described as a "savory healthy alternative to cheesecake, made of low fat cream cheese and egg whites." Okada said people were more likely to choose the second option in order to avoid guilty feelings.

The effect went away however when each dessert was presented as the only option on successive nights. It was only when they were presented together that the utilitarian dessert was preferred.

"People by nature are motivated to have fun," said Okada. "However, having fun also raises such issues as guilt and the need for justification. A sense of guilt may arise in anticipation, or as a result, of making an unjustifiable choice. An alternative may seem unjustifiable if there is a sense of guilt associated with it. It's easier for people to justify consumption that is fairly necessary, and more difficult to justify consumption that is relatively discretionary."

A similar finding results when consumers must choose between a DVD player with a built in MP3 player and a food processor. Okada speculates that when multiple options are present people may be more reflective about their choices. This tends to lead to favoring what one "should" do rather than what one "wants" to do.

Additionally, individual differences in the need for justification affects how much time, money or effort people are willing to use to get hedonic vs. utilitarian items. Generally, people prefer to pay for hedonic goods with time and for utilitarian goods with money.

"Consumers are generally willing to pay a premium for convenience, and go the distance for a bargain," she said. "Given a choice between paying in time versus money, individuals are more likely to go the extra mile and find a good deal on the DVD player – that is, pay in time – and more likely to pay a higher price monetarily at a convenient location for the food processor."

Okada's paper appears in the February issue of Journal of Marketing Research.

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