The upside of mind wandering in influencing purchasing intention: A conditional process analysis of the moderating role of temporal distance and mediating effects of memory

Abstract

Despite the prevalence of mind wandering during product information processing, existing research has predominantly focused on its negative effects, overlooking its potential positive impact on purchase intention. This paper addresses this gap by investigating when and how mind wandering can serve as a marketing resource to enhance purchase intention, specifically examining the interaction between mind wandering and temporal distance on purchase intention and the mediating role of gist and verbatim memory. Using a multi-method approach, we conducted three studies employing secondary sales data (n = 808), randomized controlled experiments (n = 1524), and eye-tracking validation techniques. Results consistently demonstrated that under distal temporal distance, higher levels of mind wandering significantly increased purchase intention, mediated by enhanced gist memory and reduced verbatim memory. This effect was non-significant under proximal temporal distance conditions, where neither high nor low mind wandering significantly affected purchase intention, revealing important boundary conditions for mind wandering's influence on consumer behavior. These findings contribute to theory by repositioning mind wandering from a cognitive liability to a potential marketing asset and extending memory-based decision-making models to attention fluctuation contexts. Practically, the research provides actionable insights for marketers facing consumer attention scarcity. Companies can leverage natural mind wandering patterns by targeting high mind wanderers with distal-framed promotions, emphasizing abstract product benefits for future-oriented purchases, and adapting messaging strategies to consumer attention states. This research opens new avenues for understanding the adaptive functions of mind wandering in consumer decision-making and offers evidence-based strategies for transforming attention challenges into competitive advantages.