The Influence of Trashing Decisions on Incidental Purchases

Consumers often confront their unused possessions and decide to forgo some of them (e.g., before moving). Incurring pain and costs, trashing evokes a motivation to avoid waste which makes consumers more effortful and conscious of product usage in subsequent purchases. The results of three experiments show that the process of contemplating whether to trash unused possessions reduced purchase intention (study 1). When an option of no choice was available, consumers were more likely to delay purchasing (study 2). Such effects were mitigated if consumers were asked to consider donating (vs. trashing) unused belongings (study 3). Our findings suggest that trashing does not necessarily lead consumers to reject future purchases but makes them more prudent in decisions. For the effect to occur, however, one should incur some pain and costs in the process. Contrary to the conventional belief, this research evidences that trashing is not always an unfavorable option to discourage