Abstract

Although some service providers, like public and subscription services, are not vulnerable to changing consumer behavior, continuous usage of services by consumers present a considerable problem for them. It is argued that reminders may induce consumers to reduce service usage without reducing the initial non-monetary motivation: prior empirical studies validate the contribution of reminders in supporting consumers’ initial motivation and maintaining their service usage habits. However, these studies are inconclusive on how consumers react to reminders, and what is the optimal timing of sending reminders. Sending too many reminders can become costly, and may irritate consumers due to over-intervention. In this research, we extended an experimental utility model to examine the effect of reminders under satiation and habituation. Furthermore, we conducted simulations and found that, in many cases, especially at low levels of satiation, concentrated reminders in the very first period are optimal.