“Yesterday I thought the pullover will be different”: Observing Consumers’ Product Expectations in Online Shopping over Time
(A2024-119677)

AUTHORS

Ann-Catrin Pristl, University of Kassel; Andreas Mann, University of Kassel

ABSTRACT

For many people, buying products online has become the norm. The expectations that customers have of the goods they order play an important role in product judgement. However, a significant difference to the purchase of products in bricks-and-mortar retail is the time lag that exists between ordering the goods and their arrival at the customer. This paper therefore aims to analyse the influence of the waiting time for a product after an order has been placed on expectations of the product. To this end, a repeated measures survey was conducted to identify changes in initial expectations of various product attributes. The results show that customers' expectations regarding certain product features deviate from their initial expectations. This study thus contributes to explaining why products often do not fulfil the expectations of customers when they arrive. It also contributes to the expansion of knowledge about changes in expectations.