Less Disclosed, More Minimal: How Soft Launches of Romantic Relationships Promote Minimalist Consumption

Soft and hard launches of romantic relationships have become increasingly prevalent forms of relationship disclosure in digital environments, yet little is known about whether these forms of disclosure influence subsequent consumer behavior. Across four experiments, we show that soft (vs. hard) relationship disclosures increase consumers' preference for minimalist consumption. We identify preference for subtle self‐presentation as a potential explanatory mechanism underlying this effect: soft relationship disclosures increase preference for subtle self‐presentation, which subsequently enhances preference for minimalist consumption. Relationship privacy orientation moderates this process, such that the indirect effect of soft launch on minimalist consumption via preference for subtle self‐presentation strengthens as relation privacy increases. A marketplace urgency cue also moderates this process, such that the indirect effect holds when the cue is absent but diminishes when it is present. These findings demonstrate how romantic relationship disclosure types influence subsequent marketplace preferences.