Article critique in the journal of consumer behavior - Essay Example

Article Critique in the Journal of Consumer Behavior Summary of the Article In the article, Do Payment Mechanisms Change the Way Consumers Perceive Products, by Promothesh Chatterjee and Randall L. Rose published in the Journal of Consumer Research and the University of Chicago Press, the authors allege that the behavior of spending among the consumers is controlled by their payment mechanism. In the article the authors contend that they conducted a research in line with other previous researches and ascertained that there is a considerable distinction in the amount spent when the mode of payment preferred was credit cards compared to other modes of payment such as cash.

The authors further substantiate their claim by providing the findings of other scholars such as Feinberg where he found that application of credit cards resulted into a rise in the eagerness to incur more expenditure and higher use of the amounts of money one can easily use. The article also provides an explanation in regard to relationship between the credit card premium and pain in payment where the behavior of consumers is highly affected by the degree to which they feel the pain of payment when they are parting with their earned cash.

The authors also points out that with the use of other mode of payment such as cash the consumers pain of payment is felt all the time when the transaction occurs. Compared to credit card payment one only requires a signature thus the pain of payment is felt at a low intensity. Therefore the process of credit card payment as a mode of payment enhances the decoupling of costs from gains since the consumer does not feel immediately the painful effect of payment (Promothesh & Randall 7). Critique of the Article First and foremost, Dr.

Promothesh Chatterjee and Prof. Randall L. Rose are two scholars with credible academic backgrounds. Promothesh holds a doctorate degree in Marketing with the University of Carolina and she has won many awards in her research in marketing field. She has also a vast experience in marketing which makes her works credible. Rose on the other hand is a professor in marketing in the same university thus by her credibility her works are reliable. From their study they have illustrated in details that consumers have a unique perception and assessment of similar products in a different way when toppled with credit cards compared to cash.

In reality when the credit terms are activated, individuals buy or attend more to their immediate needs and benefit aspects as opposed to the activation of cash where cost aspects are more taken into consideration. It has been illustrated by other scholars that indeed when credit payment is accepted, more consumers tend to be inclined to the benefits of the product as opposed to cost benefits. This in the long run influences the buying behavior where the consumers will always opt for attractive options compared to the cost aspects.

Moreover, the timing of their studies is in line with the current trends in the consumer buying behavior where their propensity to save has drastically reduced. The current generation prefers spending on more attractive options as much as their credit card limit can allow which in the end result leads to consumers spending more of their future earnings even before they actually receive such payments. Immediately their earnings are confirmed, they are required to sign for their payment to be formalized hence the pain in payment experience though the intensity is not as much as cash payment.

Work cited Promothesh Chatterjee & Randall L. Rose, Do Payment Mechanisms Change the Way Consumers Perceive Products? Journal of consumer Research, The University of Chicago Press, 2011, Print.