Antecedents of Hoarding Behavior: A Marketing Perspective

Hoarding exists when the consumer’s current inventory of an item exceeds the inventory for previous periods, while their consumption rate stays the same (Canale, 2013). Our principal research objective in this study was to investigate the preconditions that drive hoarding behaviors when consumers perceive a shortage in supply and are faced with other marketing stimuli that indicate product scarcity. We sought to further understand the lifestyle of consumers, and the impact that instilling urgent needs in advertising and pricing strategies had on hoarding behaviors. A usable random sample of 297 responses were obtained through a self-administered on-line survey. ANOVA and regression were used to ascertain differences and relationships between our dependent variables. Our findings indicated that the uncertainty of future supply or perceived shortages have a significant impact on hoarding behaviors. Consumers with high levels of hoarding behaviors have traits such as difficulty-discarding possessions, carrying “just in case” items, and having a large percentage of unused items. These consumers display sensitivity to advertisements that portray uncertainty of future items that result in a higher purchase rate in times of visible shortage. Other key variables that we found to relate to hoarding were emotional attachment to items, feelings based upon advertising, perceived scarcity, and specific personality traits. Our findings can help marketing managers understand the signals that influence hoarding and have implications for their overall marketing strategy. Marketing managers can gain knowledge from this research to determine purchase motives, plan for inventory replenishment, adjust pricing, and design appropriate marketing communications. We conclude by underscoring avenues of future research.