Is roundup donation request always preferred: a case for checkout charity

Abstract

This research attempts to build a basic framework for understanding a fast-growing but little-investigated prosocial solicitation, checkout charity, by looking at round-up or a flat amount donate request, a priori liking of the charity, checkout mode (self-service or cashier), and presence of others (friends or strangers). Three scenario-based lab experiments were conducted. A clear preference for roundup donation request exists only when the scenario in the experiment mentioned that the charity was not particularly liked and checkout was done by the cashier (versus a self-checkout machine). Investigating the cashier condition further, the preference for a roundup request is only exhibited when the scenario mentioned that the charity was not particularly liked and strangers (versus friends) were present during the solicitation.