design:retail - September 2016 - 40

shopper insights 040 Time Pressure + Mobile Marketing DAN ARIELY JAMES B. DUKE PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS DUKE UNIVERSITY @danariely T HERE'S A CERTAIN and common mobile on-the-go mindset that's about executing something immediately under time pressure. Because of this, some of the well-studied social science phenomena related to time pressure are particularly applicable in helping to understand mobile decision-making. This consideration is key for marketers who are trying to reach and influence us in these moments. The fact that we can-and often do-use mobile devices while on the go is a huge differentiator between our online behavior on a laptop versus on a mobile device. From a social science perspective, these on-the-go mobile moments, which Google calls "micro-moments," are interesting to consider. In these situations, we're often making decisions while multitasking, creating a sense of time pressure. Time pressure, a situation in which our need for time exceeds the amount of time currently available to us, can be seen as a type of stress. To help us manage stress, we often experience a narrowing effect, where we channel or tunnel our focus toward a main task and ignore or filter out certain cues. Consider the following study: People were given descriptions of 30 hypothetical car models and were asked to give the likelihood that they SEPTEMBER 2016 DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM would purchase a car. They were given five different attributes for each car. Those who were put in a time-pressure condition were more likely to narrow in on the negative attributes, which they weighted far more heavily in their selection process. In essence, time pressure encourages individuals to rule out products based on the one attribute they don't like rather than optimize GLOBALSHOP.ORG based on the many attributes that they do like. So, what does this mean for mobile marketers? It's critical today that marketers think about the context of their customer on the path to purchase: where they are, what device they're on, what their likely mindset is in that given moment. Time pressure is an important factor for marketers to consider in this mix. This is particularly true when it comes to decisions made on mobile devices on the go, since time pressure narrows the consumer's focus, giving the marketer only a brief moment to grab their attention and direct their choices. Given that time pressure creates a narrowing of "attentional" focus, people are less likely to consider a larger array of options and product attributes. Marketers should take this into account and aim to help people define the choice criteria and the key factors for their decisions. The move to mobile also means that it is becoming more and more important to be top of mind with a simple and clear offering. That's why it is critical for marketers to continue to invest in brand building and, subsequently, be there with their product or message when people are making decisions. DAN ARIELY IS THE JAMES B. DUKE PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS AT DUKE UNIVERSITY. Illustration by ERHUI1979/ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK http://www.DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM http://www.GLOBALSHOP.ORG

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