The Impact of Transaction Utility on Consumer Decisions The Role of Loss Aversion and Acquisition Utility

In consumption decisions, Thaler (1985) distinguishes acquisition and transaction utility. Whereas acquisition utility stands for the pleasure from obtaining a good, transaction utility denominates the value consumers derive from the deal itself. Transaction utility depends on a comparison of actual prices with reference to other prices such as the regular price. The present article reports two experimental studies demonstrating the effect of transaction utility on purchase decisions. In Experiment 1 (N = 90), on the basis of prospect theory (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979), it is expected that negative transaction utility affects purchase decisions to a higher degree than its positive counterpart. Results support this hypothesis. In Experiment 2 (N = 121) it is hypothesized that acquisition utility moderates the effect of transaction utility, that is, transaction utility becomes less important if a product is desired primarily for its actual value. Though both forms of utility affected purchase intentions, no support for the moderation hypothesis was observed.