In These Uncertain Times: Fake News Amplifies the Desires to Save and Spend in Response to COVID-19 – MSI

Working Paper

In These Uncertain Times: Fake News Amplifies the Desires to Save and Spend in Response to COVID-19

Justin Pomerance

University of New Hampshire

Nicholas Light

University of Colorado Boulder

Lawrence E. Williams, Jr.

University of Colorado Boulder

Feb 13, 2023

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Uses a series of online experiments to determine how uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, amplified by the perceived prevalence of “fake news,” can cause consumers to both want to conserve resources but also to compensate for cutbacks in some areas with increased spending in others.

Topics

Consumer Behavior & Insights Omnichannels & Customer Journey

research recap

How Covid-19 and Fake News Motivate Consumers: Save or Indulge?

Uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, amplified by the perceived prevalence of “fake news,” can cause consumers to want both to conserve resources but also to compensate for cutbacks in some areas with increased spending in others. As uncertainty increases, affluent consumers are more likely than others to “balance” overall consumption in this way.

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