Why do some people camp out overnight or wait in line for hours – if not days - to get that just-released book or the latest high-tech gadget?
A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research says the first letter of our childhood surname determines a lot about our consumer behavior as adults.
Authors Kurt A. Carlson of Georgetown University and Jacqueline M. Conard of Belmont University say the tendency to act quickly to acquire items such as those above is related to the first letter of one’s childhood surname.
Carlson and Conard found that the later in the alphabet peoples' childhood surnames were, the faster those consumers responded to purchase opportunities.
Children with last names that fall late in the alphabet are often at the end of lines or at the back of the class.
“The idea holds that children develop time-dependent responses based on the treatment they receive,” the authors explain. “In an effort to account for these inequities, children late in the alphabet will move quickly when last name isn’t a factor; they will ‘buy early."
Likewise, they say, those with last names early in the alphabet will be so accustomed to being first that individual opportunities to make a purchase won’t matter very much.
The authors say whether it’s shopping at a clearance sale, choosing a seat to hear live music, or shopping for produce at a farmers’ market, late alphabet consumers want to make sure they’re the first in line
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