Subtopic Deep Dive
Hedonic and Utilitarian Dimensions of Consumer Shopping Value
Research Guide
What is Hedonic and Utilitarian Dimensions of Consumer Shopping Value?
Hedonic and utilitarian dimensions of consumer shopping value distinguish experiential pleasure-driven benefits from functional task-oriented benefits influencing purchase decisions and store loyalty.
Researchers measure hedonic value through enjoyment, excitement, and social aspects, while utilitarian value focuses on efficiency, price savings, and product quality (Bhakat and Muruganantham, 2013; 320 citations). These dimensions predict impulse buying, online-offline channel preferences, and expenditure behaviors across retail formats. Over 10 key papers from 2008-2018 explore their antecedents and outcomes in fashion, auctions, and pricing contexts.
Why It Matters
Retailers use hedonic-utilitarian insights to design omnichannel strategies balancing emotional engagement with transactional efficiency, as social media amplifies impulse buying in fashion (Aragoncillo and Orús, 2018; 310 citations). Price promotions targeting emotional impacts boost preferences over mere discounts (Aydinli et al., 2014; 147 citations). These dimensions inform loyalty programs and store layouts, with studies showing generational and gender effects on fashion spending (Pentecost and Andrews, 2009; 224 citations).
Key Research Challenges
Measuring hedonic value empirically
Scales for hedonic dimensions often conflate with impulse triggers, complicating isolation in surveys (Bhakat and Muruganantham, 2013). Multi-dimensional price image assessments reveal format-specific variations (Zielke, 2010; 165 citations). Validating across online-offline contexts remains inconsistent.
Online-offline value differences
Consumers perceive higher impulsivity online due to social media, but utilitarian savings perceptions vary by channel (Aragoncillo and Orús, 2018; 310 citations). Addiction models highlight problematic hedonic escalations in internet shopping (Rose and Dhandayudham, 2014; 224 citations).
Emotional pricing effects modeling
Discounts evoke emotional responses beyond utility, mediating quality perceptions in apparel (Lee and Chen-Yu, 2018; 136 citations). Promotions can discourage purchases if hedonic value drops (Aydinli et al., 2014; 147 citations).
Essential Papers
A Review of Impulse Buying Behavior
Ravi Shankar Bhakat, G. Muruganantham · 2013 · International Journal of Marketing Studies · 320 citations
Researchers and Practitioners have been interested in the field of impulse buying for the past sixty years (Clover,
Impulse buying behaviour: an online-offline comparative and the impact of social media
Laura Aragoncillo, Carlos Orús · 2018 · Spanish Journal of Marketing - ESIC · 310 citations
Purpose This paper aims to explore the phenomenon of impulse buying in the fashion industry. The online and offline channels are compared to determine which is perceived as leading to more impulsiv...
Fashion retailing and the bottom line: The effects of generational cohorts, gender, fashion fanship, attitudes and impulse buying on fashion expenditure
Robin Pentecost, Lynda Andrews · 2009 · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · 224 citations
Towards an understanding of Internet-based problem shopping behaviour: The concept of online shopping addiction and its proposed predictors
Susan Rose, Arun Dhandayudham · 2014 · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · 224 citations
Current Internet-based shopping experiences may trigger problematic behaviours which can be classified on a spectrum which at the extreme end incorporates OSA. The development of a conceptual model...
Motivation for online impulse buying: A two-factor theory perspective
Louis Yi-Shih Lo, Sheng-Wei Lin, Li-Yi Hsu · 2016 · International Journal of Information Management · 185 citations
How price image dimensions influence shopping intentions for different store formats
Stephan Zielke · 2010 · European Journal of Marketing · 165 citations
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse how five price image dimensions influence shopping intentions for different store formats. Design/methodology/approach In total, 306 espondents evalu...
Price Promotion for Emotional Impact
Aylin Aydinli, Marco Bertini, Anja Lambrecht · 2014 · Journal of Marketing · 147 citations
Managers and academics often think of price promotions merely as incentives that entice consumers to accept offers that they might not have considered otherwise. Yet the prospect of paying a lower ...
Reading Guide
Foundational Papers
Start with Bhakat and Muruganantham (2013; 320 citations) for impulse review linking to hedonic/utilitarian, then Pentecost and Andrews (2009; 224 citations) for fashion applications, Zielke (2010; 165 citations) for price images.
Recent Advances
Study Aragoncillo and Orús (2018; 310 citations) on social media impulses, Lee and Chen-Yu (2018; 136 citations) on discount mediation, Lo et al. (2016; 185 citations) for online motivations.
Core Methods
Survey-based multi-dimensional scales (Zielke, 2010); structural equation modeling for mediators (Lee and Chen-Yu, 2018); two-factor theory for impulses (Lo et al., 2016).
How PapersFlow Helps You Research Hedonic and Utilitarian Dimensions of Consumer Shopping Value
Discover & Search
Research Agent uses searchPapers and exaSearch to find 320-citation review 'A Review of Impulse Buying Behavior' by Bhakat and Muruganantham (2013), then citationGraph reveals connections to Aragoncillo and Orús (2018) on online-offline impulses, and findSimilarPapers uncovers related price image works.
Analyze & Verify
Analysis Agent applies readPaperContent to extract hedonic/utilitarian scales from Pentecost and Andrews (2009), verifies response claims via CoVe chain-of-verification, and runs PythonAnalysis with pandas to statistically compare citation impacts across 10 papers or GRADE evidence strength in impulse models.
Synthesize & Write
Synthesis Agent detects gaps in online hedonic value measurement post-2018, flags contradictions between emotional pricing effects (Aydinli et al., 2014) and discount perceptions (Lee and Chen-Yu, 2018); Writing Agent uses latexEditText, latexSyncCitations, and latexCompile to generate a review manuscript with exportMermaid diagrams of value dimension flows.
Use Cases
"Run regression on price discount effects from Lee and Chen-Yu (2018) data patterns."
Research Agent → searchPapers → Analysis Agent → runPythonAnalysis (pandas regression on extracted savings-quality mediators) → matplotlib plot of mediation effects.
"Draft LaTeX section on hedonic vs utilitarian in omnichannel retail."
Synthesis Agent → gap detection → Writing Agent → latexEditText + latexSyncCitations (10 papers) → latexCompile → PDF with value comparison table.
"Find code for simulating impulse buying models from recent papers."
Research Agent → paperExtractUrls → Code Discovery → paperFindGithubRepo → githubRepoInspect → Python sandbox verification of hedonic trigger simulations.
Automated Workflows
Deep Research workflow conducts systematic review of 50+ impulse papers via searchPapers → citationGraph → structured report on hedonic-utilitarian evolution. DeepScan applies 7-step analysis with CoVe checkpoints to verify emotional pricing claims (Aydinli et al., 2014). Theorizer generates theory linking social media to hedonic value escalation from Aragoncillo and Orús (2018).
Frequently Asked Questions
What defines hedonic vs utilitarian shopping value?
Hedonic value captures sensory enjoyment and excitement; utilitarian value emphasizes functional efficiency and savings (Bhakat and Muruganantham, 2013).
What methods measure these dimensions?
Multi-item scales assess price image dimensions and impulse triggers via surveys across store formats (Zielke, 2010); mediation models test discount affect (Lee and Chen-Yu, 2018).
What are key papers?
Bhakat and Muruganantham (2013; 320 citations) reviews impulses; Aragoncillo and Orús (2018; 310 citations) compares online-offline; Pentecost and Andrews (2009; 224 citations) links to fashion spending.
What open problems exist?
Post-2018 integration of AI-driven personalization with hedonic triggers; longitudinal effects of emotional pricing on loyalty beyond apparel.
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