The impact of residential mobility on consumers’ preference for feasible products

Abstract: Nowadays, billions of people frequently change their residence, and residential mobility has become an essential part of consumers’ lives all over the world. Researchers have recognized the importance of residential mobility and prior research mainly focused on how residential mobility affected individuals’ self-concept and their interactions with others. There are also some research investigating the long-term effects of residential mobility on individuals’ health and education. However, little is known about how residential mobility influences consumers’ product preferences. To fill this research void, this research focused on the feasible and desirable attributes of products and proposed that residential mobility strengthened consumers’ process focus mind-set, which in turn increased their preferences for feasible (rather than desirable) products. In addition, we believed that this effect would not be significant for maximizers, and this effect would also be attenuated when consumers made decisions for others rather than for themselves.
We conducted ten studies(4 in appendix) to test our hypotheses. Study 1a used secondary data from CHFS to provide preliminary evidence for the relationship between residential mobility and preference for feasible product. Study 1b employed a single factor (residential mobility: high vs. low) between-subjects design and 150 Credamo workers were recruited. We manipulated participants’ residential mobility through a writing task and then measured their preferences for four pairs of products. The results showed that residential mobility increased consumers’ preference for feasible products. In Study 1c, we aimed to measure participants’ preference in a real product choice context to test the robustness of our main effect. This study employed a single factor (residential mobility: high vs. low) between-subjects design, and we randomly recruited university students. We manipulated residential mobility in a different way and told participants that they had the extra chance to win a puzzle to measure their real choice. The results further confirmed the robustness of the effect of residential mobility on the preference for feasible products in a real product choice context.
In Study 2 we tried to explore the underlying mechanism. This study employed a single factor (residential mobility: high vs. low) between-subjects design. 400 Credamo workers participated in the study. The manipulation of mobility and measurement of preference for feasible products was similar to Study 1b. Then we measured participants’ process focus mind-set. This study not only showed that our proposed effect was driven by process focus, but also ruled out alternative explanations such as abstract thinking, primary focus, sense of control and anxiety. In Study 3a, we employed a single factor (residential mobility: high vs. low) between-subjects design and recruited 434 Credamo workers. We manipulated residential mobility same as Study 1b and measured whether participants were maximier or satisficeer. Results replicated the effect of residential mobility on preference for feasible products and showed the moderating role of maximizer. Finally, in Study 3b, we conducted a 2 (mobility: high vs. low) × 2 (object of decision: self vs. others). Results showed that the effect of residential mobility on preference for feasible products would be attenuated if participants made decisions for others rather than for themselves.
Taken together, this research demonstrated that consumers with high residential mobility preferred feasible products, which was driven by process focus. For consumers who were maximizers or those who decide for themselves, this effect would not be significant. Our research not only reveals a novel downstream effect of residential mobility, but also enriches the literature on feasibility preference and process focus. Accordingly, this research yields strong practical implications for marketing strategies.