Journal of Consumer Affairs最新文献

Consumers often face challenges in making choices when their preferences are unclear, the number of alternatives is high, and information is complex. This can result in reduced engagement and satisfaction with the process and result of choice. These negative effects can be countered by sequentially eliminating choice alternatives via a series of more manageable trade-offs. We applied this approach to private health insurance choices, designing a product comparison tool that splits this complex decision into a sequence of simpler trade-offs. In a pre-registered online study with 801 participants, we compared the sequential tool to a regulator's existing comparison tool. Results showed higher satisfaction and a clear preference for the sequential tool across sociodemographic groups. The sequential tool also positively influenced satisfaction with chosen health insurance plans. Our findings support the potential of simplified, sequential elimination to enhance choice satisfaction, suggesting opportunities for developing consumer decision aids in complex product markets.

Consumers can now purchase cannabinoid Cannabidiol (CBD) oil from retailers. Product names are often used to communicate the differences in the contents of CBD oils; for example, “CBD isolate” only contains CBD, whereas “full spectrum CBD” contains terpenes, flavonoids, and some delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The names used to describe CBD oil could cause consumer confusion about actual product contents. We conducted an online survey with two product selection tasks to examine confusion associated with CBD oil names. Products in one selection task displayed names used to describe products, whereas the other selection task presented the attributes associated with the products. This design allowed us to conduct within-subject tests to determine consumer confusion associated with the product names commonly used to describe CBD oils. This study provides valuable insights into consumer confusion and preferences regarding CBD products, and findings suggest that more detailed product attribute information can help reduce consumer confusion.

This paper examines the factors associated with access to and frequency of use of alternative financial services (AFS) using a composite dataset comprising of geographic locations of AFS establishments and state payday policies merged with the geo-coded 2018 and 2021 pooled waves of the FINRA National Financial Capability Study. The results provide mixed evidence of the association between the density of AFS providers in an area and the use of AFS. Objective financial knowledge was negatively associated with both the likelihood and frequency of AFS use. Perceived Money Management Ability (PMMA) was also negatively associated with the use of AFS but not with the frequency of AFS use. Controlling for financial access and capability variables, Black consumers and low-income consumers were more likely to use AFS. The implications for policymakers, scholars, and researchers are discussed.

Understanding and mitigating consumer vulnerability is critical in an age of pervasive misinformation and deception. This research examines how technology dependence can heighten consumer vulnerability by elevating the risk of being deceived in the marketplace. Drawing from Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research and Media Systems Dependency Theory (MSD), we propose that high technology dependence depletes cognitive resources, reduces consumer skepticism, and increases susceptibility to deception, an essential element of consumer vulnerability. Through three empirical studies, we show that technology dependence heightens consumers' vulnerability to deceptive information, primarily through reduced skepticism. Furthermore, we found that consumers' moods moderate this relationship, with negative moods mitigating and positive moods amplifying the adverse effects of technology dependence on skepticism. Our findings reveal mechanisms driving consumer vulnerability in the digital age, offering valuable insights for marketers and policymakers to enhance consumer protection, as well as marketplace and digital literacy.

Wicked problems pose both immediate and existential threats. Within this article we explore the underlying nature of wicked problems, including the social traps embedded in them. We deconstruct the ecosystem surrounding single-use plastics to make key points regarding controversies and conflicting interests surrounding wicked problems. We propose that wicked problems may be reframed by unpacking the relationships between individuals and collectives and how social traps are understood in terms of time horizon, ownership, responsibility, and involvement. We argue that resolutions to social traps are paramount to resolving wicked problems in the case of single-use plastics and to wicked problems more generally. We draw from marketing, psychology, public policy, and consumer research literature to suggest specific ways marketing can mitigate or perhaps eliminate the insidious dynamic of social traps and wicked problems, and in turn affect positive outcomes to enhance the short-term and long-term well-being for many consumers and stakeholders.