Relationship Type and Gift-giving in Mobile Commerce: Psychological Costs of Thoughtfulness and Conformity to Social Norms*

Purpose: With the growing popularity of mobile gifting services, contactless gift-giving—enabled by overcoming the temporal and spatial constraints—has become a widely adopted practice in the digital marketplace. Despite this market growth, limited academic attention has been paid to the potential psychological costs consumers may experience when engaging in mobile gifting. Prior research has focused primarily on the functional convenience of mobile gifting, overlooking its symbolic meanings and normative implications. To address this gap, the current study examines whether mobile gifting triggers concerns related to perceived thoughtfulness and social norm conformity, and whether these concerns negatively influence evaluations of the gifting behavior. Furthermore, the study investigates whether these effects vary depending on the relationship between the giver and the recipient—specifically, romantic partners, close friends, or casual acquaintances. Research design, data, and methodology: Two empirical studies were conducted to examine whether the effect of gift delivery method on evaluations of gift-giving behavior varies depending on the relationship type between the giver and the recipient. Study 1 served as a preliminary investigation which explored whether preferences for mobile gifting versus direct gift-giving differ across relationship types by presenting participants with a binary choice between the two delivery methods. Study 2 tested the hypotheses 1 and 2 by employing a scenario-based experimental design by manipulating both the gift delivery method (mobile vs. direct) and the relationship type (romantic partner, close friend, or casual acquaintance). A two-way ANCOVA was conducted to test the interaction effect on gift evaluation, controlling for gift attractiveness and age. A moderated serial mediation analysis was conducted using PROCESS Macro (Model 83) to examine whether the effect of relationship type and gift delivery method on gift evaluation is mediated by perceived thoughtfulness and social norm conformity. Results: The current research demonstrated that the gift delivery method and the relationship type interact to influence evaluations of gift-giving behavior (H1), and this effect is sequentially mediated by perceived thoughtfulness and perceived conformity to social norms (H2). For close relationships (romantic partners and close friends), mobile gifting was evaluated less favorably than direct gifting due to increased psychological costs—namely, lower perceptions of thoughtfulness and norm conformity. In contrast, when gifting to casual acquaintances, no significant differences in perceived thoughtfulness or norm adherence were found across delivery methods, resulting in similar evaluations. These findings suggest that mobile gifting may undermine the symbolic and normative value of gifts in close relationships whereas such concerns are less pronounced in more distant ones. Conclusion: This research offers novel insights into the symbolic and relational dynamics of mobile gifting by highlighting the role of psychological costs in shaping consumer evaluations. While mobile gifting platforms provide convenience, they may also inadvertently signal a lack of personal investment or social appropriateness—especially in close relationships where emotional expression and normative sensitivity are more salient. Ultimately, this research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how relational context shapes consumer responses to digital gift-giving, and offers actionable guidance for mobile commerce platforms on developing segmentation and communication strategies that address consumers’ relationship-specific concerns.