Mere-possession effects without possession in consumer choice

In this article we examine whether and why preference for a good produced by its mere and arbitrary possession (Le., a mere-possession effect) occurs even in the absence of actual possession. In two experiments, we demonstrate that merely possessing a coupon for a product, as opposed to the actual product, can increase consumers ' preference for that option over its competitors ' in real choices from meaningfully comparable choice sets. In addition, a characterization of the cognitive processes underlying this phenomenon, and its variation with individual perceptions of task meaningfulness, provides support for a loss-aver-sion account of consumers ' possession-induced preferences for goods they do not actually possess. T he objects we possess exert an inordinate influence on our subsequent consumption decisions. In categories ranging from frequently purchased grocery products to expensive durables, we often adhere to previously owned brands in subsequent choices even when these brands ar