A model of buyer regret: Selected prepurchase and postpurchase antecedents with consequences for the brand and the channel

This research examines how two prepurchase stages of the buyer decision process–information search and alternative evaluation–and two postpurchase stages–evaluation of product and service attributes–influence buyer regret. The study extends prior consequences of regret to include purchase intentions toward both brand and the channel. Tested in a field sample of luxury automobile purchasers, results show that higher information search and alternative evaluation lead to more buyer regret; lower evaluations of service (but not product) attributes lead to more regret; and regret's consequences include reduced intentions to repurchase either the brand or from the dealership. Buyers who switch brands experience more regret than buyers who did not switch brands.