Temporal and Spatial Perception in Purchase Choice

Time and space are thoroughly interlinked, not only in human perception, but in everyday life. While it may still be unclear where the time and distance perception originates and what function can be assigned to their relationship, the behavioral point of view demonstrates enough evidence of similar patterns. The aim of this research is to make another step in the direction of connecting those constructs and offer a research example with application. The objective of this research is to examine time and distance preferences in purchase situations where additional unit of time or distance saves respondent's money, and to offer a research example with application in consumer choice. Two sets of survey data of responses to hypothetical situations enable response examination. Descriptive statistical analysis is followed with the cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling and unfolding, and nonparametric tests. The results are discussed in terms of possible extension of the intertemporal choice terminology and findings to the spatio-temporal context. The findings indicate dominant susceptibility to discount amount, but also reveal similarity in responses involving the time and space distances at the similar construal level. Practical implications indicate possibility for application of space and time interchangeably in discount management, which might enable higher flexibility in the supply and decrease the customer clustering on the discount days.