The Effect of Mind-Sets on Consumer Decision Strategies

When consumers consider their preference for one of a set of products without having decided whether or not they want to buy something, they develop a “whichto-buy” mind-set that increases their likelihood of making a purchase both in the situation at hand and in subsequent unrelated situations. The effect of this mindset is evident regardless of the commonality of the alternatives ’ features and regardless of whether or not the purchase decision is revocable. The mind-set that is induced by stating preferences in one situation influences the thoughts that people generate in response to other unrelated situations they encounter subsequently and consequently affects their actual purchase behavior in these situations. Purchase decisions often occur in two steps. First, consumers tentatively decide whether or not they want to make a purchase, based on the options available and their need for the type of product being considered. Then, if this decision is affirmative, they consider which of the alternatives they prefer. Sometimes, however, consumers consider their preference for one product over others before they make a decision to buy something. For example, customers who are browsing or window-shopping might be asked by an acquaintance or an enterprising salesperson which of several products they prefer. They might not have had any prior intention to make a purchase. Having computed their preference, however, they might proceed as if a decision to make a purchase has already been made. Consequently, they might be more likely to make a purchase than they would if they had explicitly considered whether they wanted to buy something at the outset. We propose a theoretical account of this phenomenon. We assume that the process of determining which of several options one would prefer to buy presupposes that a decision to purchase something has already been made. As a result,