GRADUATE RESEARCH PAPER PRESENTATION

Will Product Scarcity Messages Persuade Consumers? Evidence from A Field Experiment

Speaker
Gao Yuting (PhD Student)

16 Jan 2019 Wednesday, 02:00 PM to 03:30 PM

Executive Classroom, COM2-04-02

Please note the time change for this GRP Presentation.

Examiners: A/P Phan Tuan Quang and Assistant Professor Um Sungyong

Abstract:

Online travel search platforms help people book flights and hotels for their business trips or personal vacation. To persuade consumers to make a purchase, one interesting tactic is to use messages that highlight the scarcity of inventory. Previous studies find that product scarcity can have a positive effect on consumers' consumption behaviour. However, it is not clear how the product scarcity affects mobile app users and how product price may make a difference. By conducting a field experiment with one leading travel meta-search app, we find that product scarcity messages can significantly increase consumers' flight booking decisions. In addition, the positive effect of product scarcity messages is stronger for flight deals with higher prices. Implications are also discussed.