Whether ordering a pizza to split with friends or planning a family excursion, better communication can help reduce the anxiety that surrounds joint-consumption situations.
We’ve all been there—shopping not just for ourselves, but also for someone else. Maybe you know them well and know exactly what they want, but what if you aren’t sure? What if it's a group of people? What do you get? Something popular like pizza could always be good. Maybe that spicy nacho dip you love, but would they like it? Do they even like spicy things? It’s anxiety-inducing, and Sharaya Jones, assistant professor of marketing at the Costello College of Business at George Mason University, decided to ask why.
Her recently published paper in Journal of Marketing Research is the culmination of five years of research targeting an understudied area of consumer psychology: joint consumption. Jones started the paper as a PhD student looking into decision-making for groups; her co-author Margaret Campbell, marketing professor at University of California Riverside, was her dissertation advisor.
“Marketing and consumer decisions often focus on individual consumers, but quite often we don't make decisions for just ourselves, we also make them for ourselves and others," says Jones. “We should have more research that looks at social contexts and marketers should be aware of when these different contexts arise, because they can make a significant impact.”
Her initial inspiration, however, came from her own life. “I'm an extrovert, and despite how often I enjoy hanging out with others, I would find those [group] decisions anxiety-inducing,” she says.
The paper’s seven experiments randomly assigned participants—numbering over 2,000 in total—to make a consumption choice either for themselves, for another person or for sharing. They also filled out psychological surveys on their emotions regarding the purchase.
As predicted by the researchers, participants making purchases for sharing experienced more anxiety, which was linked to a sense of responsibility and a lack of confidence in their ability to please both parties. “It’s not that it makes the decision more difficult,” Jones points out. “You’re still choosing between the same three options. But what changes is the emotional nature of the decision.” The anxiety was heightened when purchasers didn’t know the preferences of their co-consumer or knew only that their co-consumers’ preferences differed from their own.
“Marketing and consumer decisions often focus on individual consumers, but quite often we don't make decisions for just ourselves, we also make them for ourselves and others. We should have more research that looks at social contexts and marketers should be aware of when these different contexts arise, because they can make a significant impact.”
— Sharaya Jones, assistant professor of marketing at the Costello College of Business at George Mason University
This anxiety affected not only the consumer’s state of mind but also their choices. When making shared choices, they selected safer bets, such as wines that were presented as “the most popular” or snack assortments offering something for everyone.
Jones’s insights can help marketers better understand the decision-making that goes into, for example, planning a Super Bowl or Oscars watch party. “Marketers would definitely want to have variety packs and highlight what the popular choice is, knowing that consumers are going to be making these decisions for groups, not just themselves,” says Jones.
Offering advice for consumers, she also emphasizes that uncertainty about other people’s preferences is the main source of anxiety in joint-consumption situations. While it might feel demanding or impolite to state a strong preference, the person choosing will likely be relieved that you spoke up.
“If someone is telling you that they don’t have a preference, then you’re still in this ambiguous stage of, ‘what do I choose?’ with heightened emotion, heightened anxiety,” Jones explains.
Even better, she advises, would be to present a range of preferences, thus making it easier for the buyer to land on a mutually satisfying option. Otherwise, items selected for joint consumption will skew toward the predictable (top sellers, variety packs, etc.).
Similarly, purchasers can relieve their own anxiety by simply “asking people what they want.”
However, Jones can envision a future where the emotional burden of shopping for two will be lessened by AI. “If you don’t really know the other person’s preferences, a lot of people will turn to AI to ask for advice. Asking AI for help could make people feel more confident and alleviate the sense of responsibility,” she says.
Jones plans to continue researching joint purchases, using this paper as a starting point to delve deeper into various contexts and situations.