Quality, value, satisfaction, trust, a

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.
In the decision-making process, time and effort are significant consumer costs and are often
considered along with money and other resources (Jacoby, Szybillo, and Berning 1976; Bhatnagar,
Misra, and Rao 2000). Consumers choose online shopping because it facilitates the steps in the
decision process, saving consumers both time and effort in the search, alternative evaluation, and
purchase stages. Bhatnagar, Misra, and Rao (2000) apply cost-benefit analysis to explain why
consumers choose to shop online:
[Internet stores] tend to reduce the time the consumer spends on shopping (travel
time, time spent parking, time spent traveling from the parking lot to the store, time
spent in the checkout lines) either directly or indirectly. … The only time component
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