Can I surprise myself? A conceptual framework of surprise self-gifting among consumers

Gupta, Aditya; Eilert, Meike; Gentry, James W.

doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.11.017

Cited by 29 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Previous studies suggest that self-indulgence evokes happiness, a sense of gratification and other hedonic emotions (Rook, 1987; Kivetz and Simonson, 2002). Self-indulgence has been associated with self-gifting behaviour because both are connected to purchasing products for their pleasures (Mick and DeMoss, 1990; Heath et al , 2011; Clarke and Mortimer, 2013; Gupta et al , 2018). Self-gift giving is a part of compensatory consumption (Koles et al , 2018; Syahrivar and Pratiwi, 2018).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pay to play in freemium mobile games: a compensatory mechanism

Syahrivar

Chairy

Juwono

et al. 2021

IJRDM

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PurposeA rarely discussed type of indulgence good is “virtual” goods featured in freemium games, one of the most important platforms for online retailing. The freemium business model becomes popular amid the growth of mobile games and smartphones. The purpose of this research is to look into the factors that influence the intention to play freemium games and purchase in-game virtual goods, as well as to compare male and female millennial gamers in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest mobile gaming market. This research discusses the phenomenon in the context of compensatory consumption.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative research used an online questionnaire for data collections. A total of 275 millennial mobile gamers were selected via purposive sampling. In total, there are six factors incorporated in this research: utility, self-indulgence, social interaction, competition, the intention to play freemium games and the intention to pay for virtual goods. This research used structural equation modelling (SEM) via AMOS software to test the hypotheses.FindingsThis research reveals that (1) utility is a negative predictor of the intention to pay for virtual goods, (2) self-indulgence is a positive predictor of the intention to play freemium games, (3) there is a mediation effect of the intention to play freemium games on the relationship between self-indulgence and the intention to pay for virtual goods, (4) social interaction is a positive predictor of the intention to pay for virtual goods, (5) competition is a positive predictor of the intention to play freemium games, (6) there is a mediation effect of the intention to play freemium games on the relationship between competition and the intention to pay for virtual goods and (7) the intention to play freemium games is a positive predictor of the intention to pay for virtual goods.Research limitations/implicationsThis research has several limitations: first, half of the study’s millennial respondents were students whose gaming expenditures might depend on their parents or guardians' willingness to accommodate their gaming activities. Therefore, there might be some biases in the intention to pay for virtual goods. Second, the numbers of female respondents outweigh male respondents (44.4% males), hence the sample representativeness issue in a slightly male-dominated gaming industry in Indonesia. Third, the game genres the millennial respondents mostly played were the battle royale and the shooter games. Other game genres (e.g. puzzles) might involve a different mechanism. Lastly, the authors measured the compensatory consumption concept indirectly, such as by measuring variables associated with lack of time (utility), the need for virtual achievements or online recognitions (competition), mood-related issues (self-indulgence) and lack of belongingness (social interaction).Practical implicationsGame developers and online retailers (e.g. Google Play Store, Android App Store and Microsoft Store) should incorporate competition, indulgence and social interaction elements when designing and promoting freemium games. Based on the results of this research, a combination of these three elements improves the likelihood of purchasing virtual goods via online retail platformsOriginality/valueThis is the first research to demonstrate a link between online retailing and compensatory consumption, particularly in the context of freemium games. This research extends the literature on online retailing in the context of freemium games, which has received little attention. In addition to theoretical support, this research provides new empirical evidence for previously unexplored and unsupported relationships.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pay to play in freemium mobile games: a compensatory mechanism

Syahrivar

Chairy

Juwono

et al. 2021

IJRDM

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“…Customers of a “surprise” box do not know what they are going to receive and may be drawn to the exploratory nature of such subscription services (Woo and Ramkumar, 2018). Gupta et al (2020) noted that surprise can “customize the consumption experience as the surprise is idiosyncratic and unique to each individual consumer” (p. 3). CSS differentiate themselves by varying the curation type, and the following are most commonly employed in the subscription-box marketplace: Full curation.…”

Section: Theoretical Background and Hypotheses Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shopping without the fuss: the effect of curation type in clothing subscription adoption on cognitive dissonance and consumer responses

Johnson

Seifert

Lee

2021

IJRDM

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PurposeTo address the volatile nature of the retail industry, retailers have adopted clothing subscription services (CSS) to meet the demanding needs of consumers. This study provides insight into different types of CSS, as well as a process by which behavioural intentions are influenced by CSS type through cognitive dissonance (wisdom of purchase and emotional dissonance) and attitude towards the CSS.Design/methodology/approachAn experimental design manipulating the CSS type (full/partial/none) was conducted among 358 US consumers to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsHayes PROCESS macro model results demonstrated that consumers did not experience more cognitive dissonance towards a partially, fully curated or non-curated CSS. However, a significant interaction effect further uncovered that consumers with high aesthetic perception experience more negative wisdom of purchase towards a fully compared to a partially curated CSS, thereby impacting attitude and behavioural intention towards CSS.Practical implicationsDue to today's rapidly evolving retail industry, retailers endeavouring to engage in this business model should come up with strategies to turn a visitor into a subscriber and decrease hesitation in novice consumers. Moreover, retailers should ascertain consumers’ level of aesthetic perception as it plays an important role in CSS adoption.Originality/valueWe introduced a unique operationalization of CSS types by differentiating between fully, partially and non-curated subscriptions, which are commonly employed in the subscription-box marketplace. The previous literature rarely makes distinctions between these types, although our findings show that consumers perceive them differently.

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“…At present, relatively little is known about self‐gifting related to consumers globally, particularly within collectivistic societies (Gupta et al., 2018; Mortimer et al., 2015). Simultaneously, some collectivistic cultures are becoming more individualistic (Ogihara et al., 2015; Santos et al., 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%