The Short- and Long-Term Effects of Measuring Intent to Repurchase

We compare the incidence, timing, and profitability of repeated online grocery purchases made by a cohort of consumers whose purchase intentions were measured with those of similar consumers whose intentions were not measured. We find that measuring intentions increases the likelihood of repeat purchase incidence and shortens the time until the first repeat purchase but that these two mere-measurement effects decay rapidly after 3 mo. Still, we find persisting gains in customer profitability over time because the accelerated purchases of the first 3 mo. lead to faster subsequent purchases in the remainder of the period.

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