When consumers stockpile products, how do they decide when and how much they will consume? To answer this question, we develop a framework showing how the salience and convenience of products influence post purchase consumption incidence and quantity. Multiple research methods—including scanner data analysis, a field study, and two laboratory studies—show that, once the decision to consume has been made, stockpiling increases consumption quantity for most products.

However, we find that stockpiling triggers consumption incidence only for high-convenience products and that this effect is partially mediated by the higher salience caused by stockpiling. In addition to providing new insights on how consumers make post purchase consumption decisions, these results have implications for the debate on the value of promotions that induce stockpiling.

For more information see Chandon, Pierre and Brian Wansink (2002), “When are Stockpiled Products Consumed Faster? A Convenience-Salience Framework of Post-purchase Consumption Incidence and Quantity,” Journal of Marketing Research, 39:3 (August), 321-335. Reprinted with permission from Journal of Marketing Research, published by the American Marketing Association www.marketingpower.com/content1054.php.

Contact:
Brian Wansink, PhD
Food and Brand Lab, Director
110 Warren Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
Email: foodandbrandlab@cornell.edu

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