When deciding when to make a purchase, people often compare their outcomes to those that would have occurred had they purchased earlier or later. In this article, we examine how pre- and postpurchase comparisons affect regret and satisfaction, and whether consumers learn to avoid decisions that...

The desire to minimize regret is one of the primary drivers of consumer decisions. Yet, consumers display a persistent preference for larger assortments even though they often feel regretful and dissatisfied after choosing from such an abundance of options. We propose that consumers do aim to...