Smart Shoppers’ Purchasing Experiences: Functions of Product Type, Gender, and Generation

Today’s consumers want to feel smart while shopping by minimizing the costs associated with shopping trips (e.g., time, effort, or money) and maximizing the benefits (e.g., convenience, ease, or finding the right product). This study examined whether smart purchasing experiences (i.e., effort and time saving, money saving, and making the right purchase) differ by product type, gender, and generation, after adjusting to the same levels of search and planning that were made before purchasing. Using 1474 respondents drawn by an online consumer panel, a series of ANCOVAs along with MANCOVA revealed that members of different genders and generational cohorts, when purchasing different product types, demonstrate distinct smart shopping purchase experiences in terms of saving time/effort, saving money, and making the right purchase. Specific suggestions are made for marketers to target each consumer and product group.