Michelle Smytheman

Consumer regret is an under-researched concept in marketing literature. Particularly in relation to consumer decision-making in potentially life-changing circumstances such as those in transformative services.

Specifically two different types of regret warrant further investigation in transformative service research (TSR), consumer life regret and anticipated regret. Consumer life regrets are persistent regrets identified by consumers when reflecting on their past life experience. Anticipated regret is regret that is felt before a decision is made, and it influences the consumer’s pre-purchase decision-making process.

The research problem for my current HDR studies is: How does consumer life regret challenge and extend current understanding of transformative service experiences, particularly in relation to emotional burden and future transformative service decision-making?