When Are Stockpiled Products Consumed Faster? A Convenience–Salience Framework of Postpurchase Consumption Incidence and Quantity

Abstract

When people stockpile products, how do they decide when and how much they will consume? To answer this question, the authors develop a framework that shows how the salience and convenience of products influence postpurchase consumption incidence and quantity. Multiple research methods—including scanner data analysis, a field study, and two laboratory studies—show that stockpiling increases product salience and triggers consumption incidence among high-convenience products. However, when the decision is made to consume a product, stockpiling increases the consumption quantity for both high- and low-convenience products. In addition to providing new insights on how consumers make postpurchase consumption decisions, these results have implications for the debate on the value of promotions that induce stockpiling.