Quality, value, satisfaction, trust, a

Like time, effort is also a valuable consumer resource which is characterized by
consumers’ energy expenditures. Activities requiring great amounts of energy on the
consumers’ part are considered inconvenient, while activities requiring minimal energy on the
consumers’ part are considered convenient. As a completely different type of non-monetary
cost, consumers’ effort expenditures not only influence perceptions of convenience (Seiders,
Berry, and Gresham 2000), but also influence levels of satisfaction (Lovelock 1983).
Human and cognitive effort has been the topic of many studies appearing in other
disciplines including operations management, psychology, decision theory, and economics
(Youngdahl and Kellog 1997; Bettman, Johnson, and Payne 1990). However, consumer effort
expenditures have received significantly less attention within the marketing literature (Berry,
Seiders, and Grewal 2002), perhaps because product or service attributes that aim to save effort
are perceived as being the same as, and as a result are lumped together with, those that aim to
save time (Brown 1990). Thus, in a retail context, consumers view both time and effort as costs
that are associated with obtaining the desired product and/or service. In the decision-making
process, consumers must decide if the costs of obtaining the desired product/service are worth
the benefits they will receive from the purchase.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
The driving force that motivates consumers to seek convenience involves saving both time
and effort expenditures. According to Prest and Turvey (1965, p. 683), “Cost-benefit analysis is
a practical way of assessing the desirability of projects” and “implies the enumeration and
evaluation of all the relevant costs and benefits.” When deciding between several alternatives
(e.g., whether to shop in a traditional store or in a virtual store), consumers determine the costs
and benefits associated with each and compare those costs to the benefits.
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