TY - JOUR

T1 - Productivity Metrics and Consumers’ Misunderstanding of Time Savings

AU - De Langhe, Bart

AU - Puntoni, Stefano

N1 - © 2016, American Marketing Association

PY - 2016/6/1

Y1 - 2016/6/1

N2 - The marketplace is replete with productivity metrics that put units of output in the numerator and one unit of time in the denominator (e.g., megabits per second [Mbps] to measure download speed). In this article, three studies examine how productivity metrics influence consumer decision making. Many consumers have incorrect intuitions about the impact of productivity increases on time savings: they do not sufficiently realize that productivity increases at the high end of the productivity range (e.g., from 40 to 50 Mbps) imply smaller time savings than productivity increases at the low end of the productivity range (e.g., from 10 to 20 Mbps). Consequently, the availability of productivity metrics increases willingness to pay for products and services that offer higher productivity levels. This tendency is smaller when consumers receive additional information about time savings through product experience or through metrics that are linearly related to time savings. Consumers’ intuitions about time savings are also more accurate when they estimate time savings than when they rank them. Estimates are based less on absolute than on proportional changes in productivity (and proportional changes correspond more with actual time savings).

AB - The marketplace is replete with productivity metrics that put units of output in the numerator and one unit of time in the denominator (e.g., megabits per second [Mbps] to measure download speed). In this article, three studies examine how productivity metrics influence consumer decision making. Many consumers have incorrect intuitions about the impact of productivity increases on time savings: they do not sufficiently realize that productivity increases at the high end of the productivity range (e.g., from 40 to 50 Mbps) imply smaller time savings than productivity increases at the low end of the productivity range (e.g., from 10 to 20 Mbps). Consequently, the availability of productivity metrics increases willingness to pay for products and services that offer higher productivity levels. This tendency is smaller when consumers receive additional information about time savings through product experience or through metrics that are linearly related to time savings. Consumers’ intuitions about time savings are also more accurate when they estimate time savings than when they rank them. Estimates are based less on absolute than on proportional changes in productivity (and proportional changes correspond more with actual time savings).

KW - time perception

KW - numeracy

KW - productivity

KW - efficiency

KW - heuristics and biases

U2 - 10.1509/jmr.13.0229

DO - 10.1509/jmr.13.0229

M3 - Journal article

VL - 53

SP - 396

EP - 406

JO - Journal of Marketing Research

JF - Journal of Marketing Research

SN - 0022-2437

IS - 3

ER -