Temporal Distance, Mental Simulation and Consumer Purchase Intention of Group-Buying: In the Context of Baby Toiletry

　　This research uses experimental design to explore consumer evaluation of group-buying deals change over different deal time and as the mediation of such changes on the basis of how deals are presented. With the manipulation of different temporal distances and mental simulation, we conduct an experiment which is a 2 (temporal distance: near future vs. distant future) × 2 (mental simulation: process simulation vs. outcome simulation) factorial design. With the four conditions, the participants’ purchase intention are assessed. The first hypothesis is that when the deal time is shorter, consumer purchase intention is higher (H1). The second hypothesis includes H2a and H2b. The former one claims that when deal time is shorter, participants who watch the processing-image has higher purchase intention. The latter one claims that when deal time is longer, the participants who watch the outcome-image has higher purchase intention. The third hypothesis is to test if mental simulation a mediator of the interaction effect of image and deal time. 　　Results indicate that under shorter deal time, the purchase intention is higher than the condition of longer deal time. It supports H1. However the purchase intention of the participants who watch the processing-image under shorter deal time isn’t higher than the that of the participants who watch outcome-image. In the condition of longer deal time with outcome-image, participants’ purchase intention isn’t higher than that in the condition of longer deal time with process-image. The results don’t support H2. Last, although mental simulation is not a mediator of the interaction effect of deal time and image (H3 is not be supported), it indeed has an effect on consumer evaluation. 　　The findings provide marketing insights regarding how to frame deal time strategy in group-buying.