Quality-Quantity Tradeoffs in Consumption

Abstract Tradeoffs between quality and quantity are widespread in consumer decision-making. While existing research has focused on situational and contextual factors driving choices of higher-quality or higher-quantity purchases, in the current work we find that consumers possess generalized preferences for quality or quantity across purchase categories. Some consumers systematically prefer quality over quantity, and others systematically prefer quantity over quality. In 32 studies (N = 24,404) that use correlational, experimental, and longitudinal designs, and proprietary data from the Federal Reserve Bank, the current research introduces quality-quantity preferences as a novel facet of consumer decision-making. Studies 1–3 demonstrate quality-quantity preferences as an individual difference, develop the ‘quality-quantity tradeoffs’ scale to measure it, and demonstrate that it is different from related existing constructs. Studies 4A-5 show that consumers who prefer quantity over quality spend more money, borrow more, and accrue more debt, indicating that quality-quantity preferences are consequential. Taken together, our findings underscore the importance of quality-quantity preferences as a driver of consumer behavior and pave the way for future research investigating the causes and consequences of consumers’ dispositions toward quality or quantity.