THE INACTION INERTIA ON FREE GIFT WITH PURCHASE

摘要

After a product has been offered as a free gift, consumers may infer that this product is valueless, lowering their purchasing intentions when the product is sold at its regular price. This study aims to explain this phenomenon on the basis of one factor-inaction inertia. One experiment is used to show that after missing the opportunity to obtain the product as a free gift, consumers may experience regret and react under the effect of inaction inertia. Another experiment shows that the number of free gifts stimulates a process of social comparison and influences the strength of the effect of inaction inertia, which is consistent with social psychological research on this phenomenon.