How Uncertain Promotions Affect Inaction Inertia in an Online Retail Context

ABSTRACT

E-tailers often use different types of promotions to increase consumers’ willingness to buy. However, little research has been done to explore how to reduce inaction inertia caused by online promotions. Inaction inertia refers to the condition in which people who have missed a previously attractive opportunity are less likely to accept the current less attractive opportunity. This study explores how uncertainty, in combination with monetary and nonmonetary promotion types, impacts inaction inertia. The effect of the best possible outcome in an uncertain promotion is also examined. Two experiments are conducted in the context of online shopping to test the effects. The research findings can help e-tailers devise effective promotion strategies.

KEY WORDS AND PHRASES:

• Inaction inertia
• uncertainty, online promotion
• e-tailing
• online advertising

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shiu-Li Huang

SHIU-LI HUANG ([email protected]; corresponding author) is a professor in the Department of Business Administration at the National Taipei University, Taiwan. He received his Ph.D. degree in information management from the National Sun Yat-Sen University, Taiwan. Dr. Huang’s research interests are e-commerce, online marketing, and information management. His papers have appeared in Information and Management, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Internet Research, Computers in Human Behavior, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, and several other journals.

Yu-Min Zhao

YU-MIN ZHAO ([email protected]) received his master’s degree in business administration from National Taipei University. His research interests are in e-commerce and online marketing.