Time is money: Field evidence for the effect of time of day and product name on product purchase

By analysing over 8000 sales transactions from one UK bakery, this paper suggests that consumers' preferences for products with names that are perceived as having “locomotion qualities” (i.e. qualities associated with vitality and movement) can change depending on the time of purchase. In the morning, consumers preferred products with names that were perceived as being high in locomotion qualities with this reducing as the day progressed. Interestingly, the seasonal shift in sunrise moderated these effects. The conceptual explanation suggests a role for a circadian rhythm in how consumers respond to the locomotion qualities of a product name. Our research contributes insights into the biological basis of consumer behaviour and expands locomotion as a concept to describe the perception of products rather than people's individual differences.