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www.kitchenwarenews.com n JANUARY 2014 n Good News for Brick and Mortar Retailers: Consumers Hate to Wait Brick and mortar retailers may have had the secret to combating online retailers all along: instant gratification. A new study from Columbia Business School that is published in the Journal of Consumer Research warns that the positive feelings consumers experience when receiving a discounted price fades dramatically if the consumer is then forced to wait for the product. "This might spell trouble for online retailers like Amazon that offer discounted items and then force consumers to wait for the product," said Columbia Business School's Associate Professor of Marketing Leonard Lee, who performed the research with Rotman School of Management's Associate Professor of Marketing Claire Tsai. "Our research shows that even if the wait is relatively short – as little as 15 minutes – the consumer's enjoyment of the product decreases dramatically." Lee continued: "Keeping in mind that instant gratification has become a hallmark of society, brick and mortar businesses can add value to their bottom lines by offering in-store promotions on the products they know people want to experience immediately rather than waiting for delivery. This is a key competitive advantage they could have over online retailers and one that might secure their long-term survival in an expanding online marketplace," said Lee. The research titled, "How Price Promotions Influence Post-Purchase Consumption Experience Over Time," defies long-standing conventional wisdom that discounts cause consumers to enjoy products even more. Lee and Tsai conducted four experiments across a variety of hedonic AmericasMart Expands Gourmet and Tabletop Resources AmericasMart's Gourmet and Housewares and Living and Entertaining: Gifts, Tabletop and Accessories collections will delight buyers with an exceptional spectrum of top new product and extend its commitment to the culinary community with a new signature event at The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market® in January 2014. "Tabletop and housewares items are definitely in demand and on trend for a broad range of retailers," says Kristi Forbes, Vice President of Gourmet, Housewares, Tabletop and Gift for AmericasMart. "AmericasMart's continued leadership in this segment has allowed us to increase the depth and breadth of our lines and to further support the culinary community." Driving the growth in AmericasMart's Gourmet and Housewares collection is an expanded showroom for Sherry Matthews Marketing LLC and new showrooms for Chef 'N Corporation, Gourmac, Magefesa USA, Typhoon Homewares LLC and Lancaster Commercial Products LLC. The Living and Entertaining: Gifts, Tabletop and Accessories collection is highlighted by new showroom growth alongside expansions, relocations and updates of longtime AmericasMart exhibitors. Joining the collection for the January Market are Spartina 449 and Julia Knight, Inc. Welcome Home, LLC and Rosse & Associates, Inc. expand their spaces as Jason Products Ltd. and Keller-Charles of Philadelphia relocate to Floor 8. Exciting exhibitor updates include a completely redesigned showroom for Jay Strongwater/ MacKenzie-Childs and new owners for Lazy Susan USA Inc. AmericasMart confirms its commitment to the culinary community with a new GENERAL NEWS KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW special event "Culinary Futures: Helping Tomorrow's Professional Grow" to raise 5 products to explore the consumer's relationship between consumption and enjoyment. Lee and his research partner found that the shopping nirvana one feels for a product after they have received a discount only happens when the product is consumed immediately after it is paid for. One experiment asked participants to purchase orange juice. All of the participants were told that the juice had the same retail price, but half of the participants received a 50 percent discount while the other half paid the full retail price. Then, half of the participants — regardless of whether they received a discount or not — drank the juice as soon as it was paid for, while the other half waited 15 minutes to consume the juice. The researchers found that when participants who had received a discount consumed the juice immediately, the experience was significantly amplified. However, when participants who had received a discount were forced to wait 15 minutes or longer, reviews of the juice were far less favorable than by those who were allowed to consume it immediately. In fact, when asked if consumers would purchase the juice in the future, those who waited said they would be less likely to purchase the item down the line. Similar discoveries occurred when consumers were shopping for music. In a separate experiment, consumers who had to wait to download their discounted music enjoyed the music less than those who were able to download the music immediately. "If you consider the consumer relationship from a long-term standpoint, in terms of customer satisfaction and brand loyalty, marketers in big box stores might want to pay more attention to the instant gratification factor because this is something no online retailer can provide at this time." insight about this Additional research can be found in Columbia Business School's thought-leadership publication Ideas at Work. And to learn more about cutting–edge research being performed by Columbia Business School faculty members, visit www.gsb.columbia.edu. funds for Les Dames d'Escoffier International – Atlanta Chapter, a philanthropic society dedicated to fostering women in culinary and hospitality professions. The event, hosted in partnership with Cook's Warehouse, Harold Import Co. and Dugan Bliss, features a cocktail hour and silent auction and is open to all buyers and exhibitors. It takes place on Thursday, January 9 from 6 - 8 p.m. in the Fashion Theater on Building 3 Floor 15. Single tickets are $75, and each additional is $50. Tickets will be available for purchase at door. For more information, visit www.americasmart.com/jan-2014.