Nostalgia: Triggers and its role on new product purchase intentions

ABSTRACT

This research investigates the motivational effect of nostalgia induced by aversive and threatening situations (e.g., COVID-19) on new product purchase intentions. Study 1 shows that perceived COVID severity induces feelings of nostalgia and that heightened nostalgia boosts purchase intentions for new products. We replicate the effect with nostalgia triggered by a different threat (i.e., social unrest) in Study 2. Further, by inducing nostalgia through a threatening personal situation (i.e., mortality salience, Study 3) and manipulating nostalgia directly (Study 4), we further generalize the link between nostalgia and new product purchase intentions beyond COVID-19. Our research offers both theoretical and practical implications.