Discount Rates for Time versus Dates: The Sensitivity of Discounting to Time-Interval Description

Six experiments examine the impact of time-interval descriptions on consumers' discount rates. Consumers exhibit more discounting (e.g., they demand more money to delay income) when delay intervals are described by extents of time than when delay intervals are described by dates. This pattern h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of marketing research Vol. 43; no. 1; pp. 59 - 72
Main Author LeBoeuf, Robyn A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Chicago American Marketing Association 01.02.2006
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Certificates of deposit
Consumer behavior
Discount rates
Discounting
Focalism
Long term investments
Marketing
Modeling
Musical intervals
Pricing policies
Ratios
Return on investment
Sales promotions
Statistical analysis
Studies
Time perception
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Summary:Six experiments examine the impact of time-interval descriptions on consumers' discount rates. Consumers exhibit more discounting (e.g., they demand more money to delay income) when delay intervals are described by extents of time than when delay intervals are described by dates. This pattern holds in various contexts, including gains and losses, and is robust to response-mode changes. Findings further indicate that this effect may arise because, compared with date descriptions, extent descriptions enhance perceptions of interval length. The author discusses other potential mechanisms and implications.
ISSN:0022-2437
1547-7193
DOI:10.1509/jmkr.43.1.59