Promoting decision satisfaction: The effect of the decision target and strategy on process satisfaction

Consumers adopt either a choosing or rejection strategy on e-commerce platforms. How do these two decision strategies influence shopping experiences? Prior literature has explored this topic in the context of making decisions for oneself and overlooked making decisions for others. This research shows an effect of the decision target and strategy on process satisfaction. The choosing strategy enhanced process satisfaction more than the rejection strategy for people who made decisions for others compared to people who made decisions for themselves (Studies 1 and 2). When the goal of desirability seeking or undesirability avoidance was explicitly imposed on consumers, the self–other difference disappeared. Choosing induced higher process satisfaction than rejection in consumers who sought desirability compared to consumers who avoided undesirability, regardless of the decision targets (Study 3). This research shows self–other differences in decision satisfaction and presents a novel method for marketers to promote shopping satisfaction.