Siyuan Yin, PhD Student, The Wharton School; Marissa Sharif, Marketing, The Wharton School
Abstract: Recently in the gifting industry, websites allow consumers to set up cash registries (e.g., honeymoon and baby fund registries) to elicit gifts in different ways. For example, consumers may set up a cash registry that lists a lump sum expense (e.g., $5,000 for a honeymoon). Alternatively, they may set up an itemized registry, that breaks up the total expense into smaller expenses, such as travel, lodging, and activities during the honeymoon. With this type of registry, consumers can then choose which expense to contribute to. This research examines how different types of registries influence gift giving. We predict that givers respond more generously to itemized (vs. non-itemized) cash registries. We propose this is because consumers exert greater effort to choose options in itemized cash registries, making positive inferences about their relationship with the recipient. We will also examine boundary conditions of the effect of choice on generosity and offer marketing insights for consumers wishing to increase gifting contributions and marketers looking into optimizing registry design.