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Scarcity of Choice: The Effects of Childhood Socioeconomic Status on Consumers’ Responses to Substitution

Consumers’ choices are often restricted due to either product scarcity or resource scarcity, prompting consumers to seek substitutes. Yet substitution can be difficult because consumers value the ability to make choices and often react negatively when scarcity limits their ability to choose. In this article, we examine the lasting effects of childhood socioeconomic status (SES) on the ability of adult consumers to “let go” of an unattainable initial choice. We find that consumers with lower childhood SES are more likely to actively devalue an initially chosen alternative after learning that it is unavailable than consumers with higher childhood SES, and they also demonstrate higher motivation to perform subsequent tasks. These results suggest that consumers who grew up in conditions of resource scarcity (vs. abundance) may demonstrate more adaptive responses to product scarcity.