Research Article

Delay discounting determines delivery fees in an e-commerce simulation: A behavioral economic perspective

  1. Donald A. Hantula*,
  2. Kimberly Bryant

Article first published online: 15 DEC 2004

DOI: 10.1002/mar.20052

Issue

Psychology and Marketing

Psychology and Marketing

Special Issue: Experiments in E-commerce

Volume 22, Issue 2, pages 153–161, February 2005

Additional Information

How to Cite

Hantula, D. A. and Bryant, K. (2005), Delay discounting determines delivery fees in an e-commerce simulation: A behavioral economic perspective. Psychology and Marketing, 22: 153–161. doi: 10.1002/mar.20052

Author Information

  1. Temple University

*Department of Psychology (265-67),Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 15 DEC 2004
  2. Article first published online: 15 DEC 2004

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Abstract

Participants ordered music CDs and bargained for delivery time and fees in a simulated on-line store. After ordering a CD, participants engaged in a delivery-fee bargaining task that was embedded in a psychophysical up–down staircase titration procedure in which options of next-day delivery for a fee and delayed free delivery were made more or less attractive based on previous choices. A hyperbolic function derived from the matching law fit the data. These results are consistent with a behavioral-economic account of intertemporal choice in which delivery fees are seen as a swap of money for time. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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