Gift Cards and Gifted Cash: The Impact of Fit between Gift Type and Message Construal

This research investigates the relationship between types of financial gifts and evaluations of products’ advertisement messages designed at different construal levels. Based on the theory of goal-related mind-sets, the authors propose that gifted cash recipients are more likely to activate the first subgoal of the shopping procedure or script (deciding whether to buy something) and thus more likely to construe information at abstract, high-levels, whereas gift card recipients are more likely to adopt a latter subgoal or decisional stage (deciding which to buy, where, when and how to act and so on) and thus more likely to construe information at concrete, low-levels. Further, fit (vs. non-fit) between the gift recipients’ mind-set and the construal level at which product information is represented can typically lead to more favorable attitudes toward the advocated product, because fit enhances engagement that in turn intensifies reactions. Five studies demonstrate the proposed fit effect as well as provide support for their theoretical explanation.