Goizueta Marketing Professor Ryan Hamilton has recently been featured in a My Fox Atlanta news story for his latest study, “Can budgeting make you spend more?”
As a consumer psychologist, Hamilton investigates shopper decision-making, particularly how brands, prices and choice architecture influence decisions at the point of purchase. Despite his vast experience in marketing and management, Hamilton was even surprised by the study’s findings.
To be completely sure, he and his fellow researchers ran their test six times. They ultimately came to the conclusion that we end up spending not just a little more, but up to 50 percent more when we budget.
“The study says setting a price limit on single, big-ticket items like a refrigerator or a TV will backfire. For instance, if you set a $1,000 budget on a refrigerator, but at the store, you look in a range from $900-$1,200, you’ll likely go with a pricier model that has more features,” reports My Fox Atlanta.
This most recent study stands in good company with Hamilton’s other research that has been published in top academic journals, including Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Management Science and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. This research has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, USA Today, CNN Headline News, Reuters and The Financial Times.
Professor Hamilton teaches courses at Goizueta on Marketing Management (MBA) and Consumer Behavior (PhD). He was awarded the MBA Teaching Excellence Award for Junior Faculty in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. In 2011, Professor Hamilton was also named one of the World’s Best 40 B-School Profs Under the Age of 40.
