Effect of Perceived Risk and Psychological Distance on Gift Purchase

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of perceived risk and psychological distance on purchase intention when purchasing a gift. It focuses on social distances and temporal distances, and aims to identify the interactions between these psychological distances and perceived risk. Data were collected through experiments. Research design, data and methodology: The experiment was carried out through the design of 2 (perceived risk: high/low) X 2 (social distance: far / near) X 2 (temporal distance: far / near) between-subjects design. Participants were 241 undergraduates from two universities in Chungnam and Gangwon, and randomly assigned to one of eight groups. Results: It was confirmed that there is a difference in purchase intention according to the risk perceived by consumers when purchasing a gift. In particular, the difference in purchase intention based on the risk perceived by the buyer was found to be greater as the social distance between the gift giver and the recipient is shorter. In addition, it was confirmed that the intention to purchase a gift was simultaneously influenced by three factors: social distance, perceived risk, and time remaining to purchase a gift. In other words, when both temporal distance and social distance were short, the difference in purchase intention according to perceived risk was greatest. Conclusions: The purpose of this study was to examine how the relationship between perceived risk and purchase intention when purchasing a gift varies with psychological distance. This study found that the closer the relationship between the gift purchaser and the beneficiary and the shorter the time remaining before the gift purchase, the greater the difference in the willingness to purchase due to the perceptual risk. In practice, the results of this study can be used to establish sales promotion strategies for various gift products. Above all, the closer the relationship between the gift buyer and the person rece