ACADEMIC PAPERS

Consumer attitudes towards the

future and some purchase patterns
Received in revised form.

Francisco-Jose Sarabia-Sanchez
is Professor of Marketing and Marketing Research at Miguel Hernandez University at
Elche in Spain.

Abstract
The research detailed in this paper had two objectives. First, to carry out an exploratory analysis
and a measurement of consumer attitudes towards the future (CATF). Secondly, to check whether
a stronger or weaker attitude permits the detection of differences in some purchase patterns. After
a review of the literature, an empirical study, representative of the Spanish population, is
presented. A two-dimensional structure of CATF and its acceptable goodness-of-fit with the
Keywords:
statistical Weibull function were found. Hypotheses related to theadoption of purchasing patterns
Consumer were also contrasted. The results disclose that a higher CATF is found when consumers have a
behaviour, attitude, clear idea of what they want to buy, are loyal to their usual outlets, prefer to pay cash and are not
future, attitude spendthrift. Finally, several future research directions are proposed. Copyright © 2005 John
scale, Spain Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

INTRODUCTION There is little literature regarding

Consumer behaviour occurs over a
period of time. It is as much experiences
in consumption—in the past—as the
current situation and beliefs about what
is likely to happen—in the future—
which have a bearing on present
behaviour (Bergaada, 1990; Hirschman,
1987). The future underlies many
marketing phenomena, such as
innovation, diffusion and adoption of
products or consumer socialisation.
Their own future economic situation
imagined by consumers is an important
factor in their attitude towards
expenditure and saving, and provokes a
Francisco-Jose
Sarabia-Sanchez certain influence on their present
Professor of behaviour. Therefore, when consumers
Marl<eting and
Marketing Research at envisage their future in a pessimistic
Miguel Hernandez way they tend to reduce spending and
University, Avda. de la
Universidad s/n. Edf.
save money, but when they are
La Galia, 03202 Elche, optimistic about the future their
Spain
e-mail:
expenditure often rockets above their
fransarabia@umh.es means.
consumers' attitudes towards the
future and the way in which these
shape their present purchase behaviour.
'Future time' implicitly appears in
most models of consumer behaviour
(Hawes, 1980; Jacoby et al., 1976), but
none of them discusses the direct
influence that is exerted on consumers
by their 'attitude towards' or 'trust in'
the future. Holman (1981) has
remarked that an understanding of
consumer behaviour could improve if
the perception that consumers have of
their own future were to be taken into
account.
The objectives of this study were:
— To carry out an exploratory
analysis and a basic assessment of
consumer attitudes towards the future
(CATF).
— To test whether a stronger or weaker
attitude, or an optimistic/pessimistic

Journal of Consumer Behaviour vol. 4,6,407-419 Copyright © 2005 John wuey & sons, Ltd. 1472-0817 407
Francisco-Jose Sarabia-Sanchez
feeling, towards the future permits
the discovery of differences in
consumers' purchase patterns.
This paper is divided into four parts. The
first presents and discusses the most
relevant theoretical aspects regarding the
different concepts related to the study.
The second shows the basic
methodological aspects. Here, the
proposed CATF scale is presented, as
well as the data which were taken from a
survey of the Spanish Sociological
Research Centre (CIS; an autonomous
institution ascribed to the Ministry of
Presidence, with the main aim of
studying Spanish society, mainly using
survey research; further details are
available from www.cis.es). The third
part shows the results obtained. Finally,
the findings are discussed and future
research directions are proposed.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Research lines in attitude towards
the future (ATF)
An attitude is a predisposition learnt in
order to respond favourably or
unfavourably towards something
(Holbrook, 1978); it is shaped by direct
experiences or acquired information. But
the ATF problem lies in the fact that 'the
future' is immaterial and nonexistent.
The future may be understood as a
perception of what is likely to come and
is subjective, since it carries a great
cultural, psychological, emotional and
motivational weight (Nuttin and Lens,
1985). The range of definitions given is
very wide, because the concept may be
interpreted from a set of facts that are
bound to happen as well as the
construction of a life project (Lens, 1986;
Nuttin, 1964).
Although the fact that attitudes take
place within a specific context or
situation can be defended, ATF is hardly
situational and refers rather to the
confidence versus the lack of confidence
or certainty versus worry that the subject
experiences when thinking about the
future. The confidence construct allows for
408 Journal of Consumer Behaviour vol. 4, 6, 407-419 Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 1472-0817
many interpretations and it has been
defined in manifold ways (McKnight,
1996). In the marketing arena, there are
two different basic approaches
(Moorman et al., 1993). The first
maintains that confidence is a behaviour
or attitude that reflects the dependence of
one party upon another, and implies a
degree of vulnerability, uncertainty and
hope. The second conceives it as a belief
in an exchange carried out with a third
party. CATF would be placed within the
first approach, as it is the subject who
feels vulnerable when faced with the
future, while possessing a level of hope
(optimism versus worry).
References in literature that develop
the concept of ATF from a consumer
behaviour viewpoint have not been
found, although two collateral research
lines exist: 'future orientation' (FO) and
'consumers' expectations'. The first, with
a psychosociological approach, deems
that FO exists, and may be defined as the
perception and ability of people to build
a project reflecting their degree of worry
and commitment for the future (Gjesme,
1979). FO is regarded as a primary
motivation of human behaviour (Levine,
1998; Nuttin, 1985), although it is a
dimension of a wider concept:
'orientation towards time' (OT).
OT has been defined as a psychological
perception of time and how, accordingly,
people channel their activities and way of
thinking. OT has been used in cross-
cultural analysis (Ko and Gentry, 1991),
values and lifestyle studies (Ferrandi
et al., 2000; Settle et al., 1978) and in other
subjects (Graham, 1981; Jacoby et al.,
1976). FO has been used for the
explanation of phenomena such as the
overuse of credit cards (Mendoza and
Pracejus, 1997), consumption patterns
(Bergaada, 1990) or consumer
socialisation (Trommsdorff, 1983). It has
also been suggested that FO is an
essential gathering point for
understanding motivations and how
subjects stream their efforts to reach their
objectives (Halvari and Thomassen,
1997; Husman and Lens, 1999).
 Consumer attitudes towards the future and some Durchase Datterns
From the standpoint of the second
research line—the economic line—it is
considered that rather than an ATF there
exists an expectation, which defines the
degree of optimism/worry of the
consumer in the economic system. The
central axis is that confidence in the
economic system regulates pre-purchase
decisions to a great extent (Katona, 1965).
Katona conceives that consumers'
expectations are rational but subjective,
and assumes that they shape future
expenditure and savings decisions
(Katona, 1965; Throop, 1992). What is
actually defended is that consumers
make an anticipated discount to their
expectations, which is nothing more than
the activation of their predispositions.
The analysis of consumers' expectations
has a tradition (Kinsey and Collins, 1994),
and among the different indexes
drawn up the 'Index of Consumer
Expectations' (ICE; details available
from www.sca.isr.umich.edu (accessed
March 2003)), developed at Michigan
University by Katona, is outstanding.
It is used as a reliable indicator for
projecting into the future consumers'
general behaviour worldwide and as a
forecast of changes regarding demand.
ICE has had several implementations,
and similar indexes are offered in
many countries. Table 1 shows a
summary of the basic aspects of both
research lines.
Table 1 Some basic aspects of related research lines
Aspects Psychosocial line (OT/FO)
Basic subject Think about the individual's degree
of commitment to actions to attain
a desired future.
Approach Non-aggregate, psychosocial and
subjective.
Each individual has a
specific orientation. It is measured
using multi-item scales.
Utility Motivational, social, psychometric
and consumer behaviour studies.
Some relevant — AMS (Gjesme and Nygard, 1970) — University of Michigan's ICE
examples — FTOS (Gjesme, 1979) — Consumer Research Center Index, USA
— Ko and Gentry, 1991 (information about this index is available
from www.consumerresearchcenter.org,
accessed March 2003)
Journal of Consumer Behaviour vol. 4,6,407-4i9 Copyright © 2005 John wuey & Sons, Ltd. 1472-0817
The psychosocial research line works
with and generates overall time-style
orientations, but the scales in use do not
offer consumer-attitude degrees towards
the future. With regard to Gjesme's (1979)
'future time orientation' proposal, a
definition of CATF is proposed as follows.
'A state of perception that individuals develop
about their own future from another more
general (future) that influences the economic
expectations that shape their present and future
behaviour as consumers.'
Thus, CATF has a non-aggregate and
subjective nature, whereby each
individual takes a specific direction and
strength. The ATF fulfils three basic
functions: adaptation or defence, value
expression and behaviour anticipation.
Consumers seek to satisfy their needs and
to prevent losses, developing attitudes
that place them farther away from the
uncertainty of something as uncertain as
the future. At the same time, being a saver
(because a bad future is foreseen) or being
prone to spend (because it is foreseen as
auspicious) is expressing values
(Schwartz and Ros, 1995).
Dinnensional structure
The dimensional structure of the
contributions quoted in the previous
section are reviewed here, and one for
CATF is proposed. Taking the
psychosocial research line, the most
outstanding contributions are the
Econoniic or consumers' expectations line
There is a sentiment that shapes consumers'
expectations from an economic viewpoint.
Aggregated, rational and economical.
There is no assessment by the individual but
segments, samples or other clusters. It is
measured using a global index.
Index to predict the future situation of the
economy and the future purchase intent of
durable goods.
409
Francisco-Jose Sarabia-Sanchez

Table 2 Principal dimensions for ATF analysis

Approach Authors Proposed dimensions

Psychosocial FAST structure: Personal focus towards the present, past or future (focus)
Settie eta/. (1978) Activities or dynamic use of time (activity)
Spontaneity/liberty to use and to control own time {structure)
Tenacity to reach objectives (tenacity)
Structure of values: Value of time
Usunierand • Used in activities or money value time
Valette-Fiorence • Un/organised time
(1995) Time orientation
• Orientation towards past
• Orientation towards future
Psychological
• Grip on own time (mastery)
• Perceived utility (usefulness)
• Tenacity to reach own objectives (tenacity)
• Preference for quick return
Economic Kinsey and Social, perception of other people (people)
Collins (1994); Economic, in relation to financial situation (financial)
Trust, belief in future (expectations)
Activity, in relation to product purchase (buy)

four-dimension proposal made by Settle establishing utilities and weights. On the

et al. (1978) and the eight dimensions of
Usunier and Valette-Fiorence (1995) (see
Table 2). Taking the consumers'
expectations research line, no direct
reference could be found, although
Kinsey and Collins (1994) give a
description of ICE components,
outlining four dimensions.
The approaches are conspicuously
different. According to the psychosocial
research line fhe internal aspects of the
individual are highlighted, while in the
consumers' expectations research line
the external aspects dominate. Several
phenomena related to purchasing, such
as information search, preference
development, patronage or satisfaction/
dissatisfaction, can be analysed and
captured taking those dimensions into
account.
When dealing with the dimensional
structure of attitudes, the literature
mainly shows the multi-attribute, the
affective and the three-component
models (Schiffman and Kanuk, 1991). As
the future is a 'fuzzy' construct, which is
highly subjective and variable, it is
unattainable to deploy the multi-
attribute model for CATF. It would be
unfeasible on account of the large
number of attributes and the implicit
subjectivity that would be involved in
other hand, the affective model is not
enough, because one develops
knowledge about what is likely to
happen, due to the control one exerts on
some factors of the perceived future (eg
income certainty), one's own personal
organisation (eg family, profession etc),
or because one is capable of developing a
particular volitive trait to reach a specific
goal (eg sacrifice part of actual leisure
time to obtain likely benefits in the
future). Then, by exclusion, the best
approach to tackle the CATF study is the
three-component model.
Some purchase and situational
patterns
A pattern is an element or situation
which stimulates behaviour and, along
with others, shapes preferences, styles
and orientations when purchasing.
Affective and cognitive aspects underlie
each pattern, activated in the face of
specific situations and time, and generate
behaviour when purchasing products. A
wide range of activities and phenomena
(impulses, information search, post-
purchase behaviour, advertising, image
and perceived risk, purchasing habits
etc), as well as restrictions (available time
and budget, set of establishments,
environment etc) that can be managed, to

410 Journal of Consumer Behaviourvol. 4,6,407-419 Copyright ®2005JohnWUey& Sons, Ltd. 1472-0817
 Consumer attitudes towards the future and some purchase patterns
a greater or lesser extent, by the
consumer, define purchase patterns.
There are behaviour styles developed in
pre-purchase stages (eg planning or
going shopping) and others that appear
after the choice (eg means of payment).
There are four elements to be taken into
account in this study which determine
purchase patterns.
Element 1
This element is based on a clear
knowledge of what one wishes to buy.
While there are consumers who know
a priori what they wish to consume,
others decide along the way. Likewise, a
consumer may have a clear idea of what
to buy in a specific moment and the
opposite in others. This knowledge could
be understood as purchase planning (the
existence of a previous plan) or a
character trait, and it ranks equally with
non-impulsive buying (Piron, 1993). The
decision about what to buy also has been
related to merchandising stimuli and the
use of time (Donovan et al., 1994; Iyer,
1989).
This situation has a cognitive nature,
and is especially interesting regarding
quick shopping, where the lack of
available time plays a dissuasive role in
the search for information (Bronner,
1982). On the other hand, it has been
argued that planned purchases are
altered under time pressure (Iyer and
Ahlawat, 1987). It has been found that
more than two-thirds of the products
purchased are not planned to be bought
(Cobb and Hoyer, 1986) and that the
majority of planned purchases are just
partly planned (Lange and Wahlund,
1997). Due to the fact that consumer
planning strategies are very varied and
are affected by time pressure and
individual factors it is justifiable to
suppose that CATF may also affect that
purchase situation.
Element 2
The preference for 'going shopping' or
'pafronage' has been analysed widely in
the literature and it has been confirmed
Journal of Consumer Behaviourvol. 4,6,407-4i9 Copyright © 2005 John Wiiey & Sons, Ltd. 1472-0817
(Feinberg, 1986) that its cause is found in
a set of personal (eg reduction of anxiety)
and social (eg make contacts) needs.
While the purchase of basic products (eg
food) is carried out regularly (Park et al.,
1989) and takes up just the necessary
time, the 'shopping' activity is normally
accomplished without time pressure,
which allows price and product
contrasts. Nevertheless, many patronage
consumer behaviour models do not
include time as a direct moderating
variable and some models do not even
take it into account. Sheth (1983) regards
it as an unexpected external event with
influence on patronage, but not shopping
predisposition, while Darden (1980)
presents it as a factor that inhibits
patronage intention. Spiggle and Sewall
(1987) observe different aspects of time
although they do not consider it in their
model.
Element 3
Preference for the means of payment has
been related to a certain degree to
impulsiveness, when the means
deployed is the credit card (Mendoza
and Pracejus, 1997), or methods of hire
purchase with a particular approach to
the future (Tokunaga, 1993), although
such studies are not conclusive. While
some results seem to support that use/
overuse bears a relationship to 'present
orientation', with the card acting as a
stimulus to immediate spending
(Feinberg, 1986), others seem to reach the
opposite conclusion, ie the purchasing
degree does not necessarily increase, but
people tend to buy more highly priced
goods (Deshpande and Krishnan, 1980).
(There are many types of card (debit,
credit, electronic purse, charge, store
cards etc) and each of them exists in a
variety of forms (varying according to
period to repay, amount to pay etc).
Normally, people pay back the full
amount each month. Nevertheless, some
people make only the minimum
payment on their credit cards and they
do not clear their cards in full at the end of
the month. Consequently, impossible
411
Francisco-Jose Sarabia-Sanchez
debts are run up when people accept
large expenses, which may well show
signs of not caring about the future. In
Spain, normally people use debit or store
cards, or credit cards in the 'pay full
amount each month' form, and few
people defer their payments to
accumulate debts. Opposite to other
countries, Spanish people do not use
credit cards to pay for very expensive
products or to assume large debts.)
Element 4
Impulse buying is a sudden, strong and
persistent phenomenon, which leads to
acquiring something immediately. It
produces an emotional conflict and is
more prone to take place when there is a
reduction in purchase consequences
(Rook, 1987). Impulsiveness has been
related to unplanned behaviour and its
strong emotional component has been
supported by Hirschman and Stern
(1999). Impulsive behaviour is regarded
as a dimension of decision-making style,
which is understood as consumers'
psychological orientation when making
purchase and consumption choices
(Sproles and Kendall, 1986). As
impulsiveness is a short-term
phenomenon, which in particular
individuals is shown more repeatedly
while not becoming a compulsion, and is
revealed in low self-control situations or
with reduced cognitive assessment, it is
possible to presume justifiably that a
relationship between impulsiveness and
a low CATF could exist.
METHODOLOGY
Research objectives, hypotheses
and sampling
To carry out an exploratory analysis of
CATF, the methodological strategy
aimed, first, to analyse the scale and its
dimensional structure; secondly, to
tackle its statistical description while
trying to test its goodness-of-fit to some
statistical function; thirdly, to study
whether the assessments provided by the
subjects predict their placement at any
412 Journal of Consumer Behaviour Vol. 4,6,407-419 Copyright © 2005 John wuey & Sons, Ltd. 1472-0817
CATF level. The patterns suggested by
Churchill (1979) have not been followed
to carry out the study, since a closed
database from the CIS was used.
For testing whether an optimistic or
pessimistic feeling towards the future
permits the observation of differences in
consumers' purchase patterns, the
following five hypotheses were
formulated linking CATF with the five
elements described above.
Hj: Consumers who decide their purchases
along the way show lower CATF than those
who know what they want to buy beforehand.
H2: Consumers who like shopping present
higher CATF than those who do not show this
preference.
H3a: Consumers who prefer to pay using cash
(not credit cards or cheques) have a lower
CATF than those who do not use this means of
payment.
H3b: Consumers who prefer to pay using cash
show lower CATF than others who prefer to use
credit cards.
yi^c- Consumers who prefer to pay using cash
show lower CATF than those who prefer to buy
on hire-purchase.
H4: Consumers with high impulsiveness show
lower CATF than those with low
impulsiveness.
Data were taken from CIS project 2287
entitled: 'Economic behaviours of
Spanish people: Consumption and
saving, IF, which was carried out in 1998.
Males and females older than 18 years
were interviewed. Multi-step sampling,
by stratified conglomerates, with
proportional, non-weighted and
randomly distributed selection of two
previous sampling units (townships and
census sections) were used. Individuals
were chosen by the random route
method quoted by sex and age, and
personal in-depth interviews were used.
For a 95 per cent confidence level, the
sampling error was 1.96 per cent with
1,603 valid cases.
The reasons for using this database
were twofold. First, it represented the
 Consumer attitudes towards the future and some purchase patterns

Spanish population in that it reached the
whole national territory, in comparison
with commonly used samples in the
consumer behaviour research arena.
Secondly, CIS used an accurate
methodology and controlled the quality
of the fieldwork.
Items
Table 3 shows the items used. Each item
shows an aspect of the conceivable
current situation (make sacrifices for the
future or not) with a future motivation
(the future to be reached will be better or
not, both for oneself and for those close to
one), as well as two situations of different
expectations of certainty ('today there is
no certainty and money is to be saved' or
'there is no reason to become obsessed by
money as there is certainty').
An analysis for each item regarding
the dimension(s) they represented was
carried out. The views of five university
lecturers in consumer behaviour and
psychology were taken into account.
There were unanimous opinions except
for item B, which showed discrepancies.
SO that the majority result was used
(Table 4).
The answers to the items have been
given on a four-point scale. Although
seldom accomplished in marketing
research, there is no fixed norm in the
literature about category number (Dillon
et al., 1994) and it even has been
considered that three categories can be
enough in some specific cases (Matell
and Jacoby, 1971). The four-point scale
was used to prevent interviewees from
taking the easiest option when
answering. It has been acknowledged
that it is very difficult to interpret central
categories correctly, all the more so when
there are many who select them
(Edwards et al., 1997). Finally, a nominal
dichotomy scale (yes/no) was used to
measure purchase situations.
RESULTS
CATF scale results
As indicated previously, the
methodological strategy followed three
steps: first, analysing the CATF scale and

Table 3 Variables used in the study

Variables Items used

Purchase and situational patterns

CATF A. One has to sacrifice oneseif at present thinking about one's
children.
B. It is nonsense to make sacrifices today thinking about the
future (R).
C. Money has to be safely kept aside in a safe piace.
D. The future is so uncertain that it is better to live for the day (R).
E. One has to save in life to get everything one wants.
F. What matters is enjoying the present rather than having many
things (R).
G. According to the current state of affairs, retirement has to be
foreseen or guaranteed.
H. Today there is enough certainty and I do not understand those
who worry about the future (R).
Planning [PLAN] 'When I go shopping I always have a clear idea about what I want'
versus 'Normally I decide what I want along the way'.
Patronage [PATR] 'I like "shopping"' versus 'I go "shopping" when I have no other
option'.
Means of payment [PAY] PAY1: 'I'd rather pay cash' versus 'I'd rather pay with a credit card'.
PAY2: 'I'd rather pay cash' versus 'I'd rather pay in instalments or
on credit'.
Impulsiveness [IMPUL] IMPULI: 'I think hard before making my choice' versus 'If I like it, I
make my choice immediately'.
IMPUL2: 'When I have money I buy things I had not thought of
buying and if I had no money I wouldn't have bought them'
versus 'The opposite'.
Items marked with (R) are reverse scored.

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Francisco-Jose Sarabia-Sanchez

Table 4 Dimensions for each CATF item

Items of CATF scale Emotional Cognitive Volitive

A. One has to sacrifice oneseif at present thinking about Yes No Yes

one's children.
B. It is nonsense to make sacrifices today thinking about
the future. No Yes No
C. Money has to be safely kept aside in a safe place. No Yes Yes
D. The future is so uncertain that it is better to live for the day. Yes Yes No
E. One has to save in life to get everything one wants. Yes No Yes
F. What matters is enjoying the present rather than having
many things. Yes No No
G. According to the current state of affairs, retirement has to be
foreseen or guaranteed. No Yes Yes
H. Today there is enough certainty and I do not understand
those who worry about the future. Yes Yes No

its dimensional structure; secondly,
describing basic aspects of the scale; and
thirdly, finding CATF levels with
different attitude degrees. On analysing
the CATF structure, principal
components factor analysis with
orthogonal VARIMAX rotation was
used. The results (Table 4) show an
acceptable goodness-of-fit: KMO is 0.824,
Bartlett's test is significant
(Chi = 2,166.51; p = 0.000) and the
minimum MSA is 0.802, which is much
higher than 0.5. Fifty per cent of the
original information was explained by
the first two factors. Kaiser criteria were
followed and the two factors were
retained. Table 5 shows that Factor 1 (36.5
per cent of variance) contains items with
a higher volitive dimension. Factor 2
(13.5 per cent of variance) has cognitive
and emotional weight.
Next, reliability analysis was carried
out. For the global scale, Cronbach's
alpha was 0.75, which is suitable enough
for an exploratory analysis (Nunnally,
1978). Table 6 shows the main results for
both the general CATF analysis and the
two factor subscales.
The two subscales had rather low
reliability levels and Tukey tests showed
that it was not possible to carry out the
addition of the items in the case of the
Factor 2 subscale. The opposite
happened with the global scale, where a
Tukey test value very close to the unit
was obtained. The CATF scale had a two-
dimensional structure and was built as a
summative scale. Therefore, the higher
the CATF value, the more worry there
was about the future. On the contrary,
reduced CATF values implied a more
optimistic vision of the future. The
descriptive statistics can be found in
Table 7. There was a slight negative
skewness of -0.32, which implies a high
presence of high attitudinal values,
although there were extreme values on
the lower side of the scale.
The CATF distribution was studied, as
well as its adjustment to various
statistical functions, achieving an
acceptable goodness-of-fit to the WeibuU

Table 5 Factor analysis results

Items MSA Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor Eigen-value % of variance

A. One has to sacrifice oneself... 0.846 0.661 1 2.923 36.450
B. It is nonsense to make sacrifices... 0.856 0.630 2 1.079 50.030
C. Money has to be safely... 0.812 0.779 3 0.831 60.415
D. The future is so uncertain t h a t . . . 0.814 0.682 4 0.730 69.535
E. One has to save in life to g e t . . . 0.816 0.684 5 0.677 78.003
F. What matters is enjoying t h e . . . 0.835 0.651 6 0.653 86.169
G. According to the current state... 0.813 0.598 7 0.590 93.547
H. Today there is enough certainty... 0.802 0.707 8 0.516 100.000

414 Journal of Consumer Behaviourvol. 4,6,407-4i9 Copyright © 2005 John wiiey & sons, Ltd. 1472-0817
 Consumer attitudes towards the future and some Durchase Datterns

Table 6 Reliability adjustments

Scales Statistics

General CATF Alpha = 0.75; Tukey = 0.99; T^ Hotelling = 2,035,46 (p = 0,000);

Factor 1: Volitive subscale
Factor 2: Emotional and
cognitive subscale
ANOVA = 297.53 (p = 0.000)
Alpha = 0.65; Tukey=1.14; T^ Hotelling = 1,304,50 (p = 0,000);
ANOVA = 297.53 (p = 0.000)
Alpha = 0.66; Tukey = - 0 . 0 4 ; "^Hotelling = 111,31 (p = 0,000);
ANOVA = 395.37 (p = 0.000)

Table 7 CATF scale descriptives

Statistic Value Histogram of proportions

Mean 15.87
Confidence limits of mean 15.69-16.04
Skewness -0,32 2'
Kurtosis 0,35
01
Variance 12,65
Per
Valid sample 1,603 cent 8' _

Range 0-24
SE mean 6 p-
0.09
SE skewness 0,06 A I

SE kurtosis 0,12
Percentile 33 14
Percentile 50 16
Percentile 67 18 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24

Attitude towards the future

distribution with scale = 17.345 and measurements performed on the

shape = 4.822. Several analyses were
carried out and it was found that the
formation of three attitudinal levels
allowed a suitable placement of
individuals. The first level included
individuals with a low attitudinal degree
(percentile 33). The second level grouped
percentile 67 or those with between
15-17 points and the third CATF level
included those with more than 17 points
on the scale.
To test this classification in three
groups, a discriminant analysis was
applied. It is well known that this
technique generates functions to
discriminate groups of individuals
when they have been formed using
individuals themselves. Only hit ratio
was interesting: the percentage of
grouped individuals correctly classified
was 93, if CATF items were
independent variables. In Table 8 the
medium CATF group can be seen to
show a perfect classification, but high
and low attitudinal degree groups had a
worse grouping. Fven if it were feasible
to calculate the goodness-of-hit ratio
(Huberty, 1984), 93 per cent was too
high to be randomly attained.
Results from the hypotheses contrasts
Table 9 shows the main results. Using
f-tests for independent samples. Hi and

Table 8 Individuals correctly classified

Predicted group

Actual group Low CATF Medium CATF High CATF

Low CATF 450 (84,7%) 81 (15.3%) 0
Medium CATF 0 552(100.0%) 0
High CATF 0 31 (6,0%) 489 (94,0%)

Journal of Consumer Behaviourvoi, 4,6,407-4i9 copyright © 2005 John wuey & sons, Ltd. 1472-0817 415
Francisco-Jose Sarabia-Sanchez

Table 9 Contrasts of hypotheses in relation to purchase patterns

Hypothesis Variables of contrast CATF mean t-test and significance

H, 1 have... 1 want to buy 16.02 3.104

PLAN 1 decide... along the way 15.35 (p = 0.000)
H2 1 like shopping 15.71 -1.122
PATRON 1 g o . . . no other option 15.93 (p = 0.262)
H3 PAY1: I'd rather pay cash 16.07 4.774
PAY I'd rather pay with credit card 14.96 (p = 0.000)
PAY2: I'd rather pay cash 15.91 1.779
I'd rather pay in instalments 15.30 (p = 0.075)
H4 IMPUL1: 1 think hard before making 16.30 4.538
IMPUL If 1 like i t . . . immediately 15.49 (p = 0.000)
IMPUL2: When 1 have money 1 buy things 15.00 -5.915
The opposite 16.18 (p = 0.000)

H4 were confirmed. Consumers with a centred upon the analysis of consumers'

lower attitudinal level towards the future
showed high impulsiveness in their
purchases and tended to decide along the
way (normally in the establishment). On
the contrary, consumers who regarded
themselves as faithful to a set of
establishments presented a higher CATF
level. H3 was rejected because
individuals who paid cash presented a
higher CATF. This seems to contradict
Tokunaga's opinion (1993) on the fact
that subjects who use credit cards and
payment in arrears present a higher
future approach, while it seems to
support Deshpande and Krishnan's
(1980) standpoint.
H2 was rejected as it could not be
confirmed that subjects who liked to go
shopping showed a higher CATF.
Although those who liked going
shopping presented a lower CATF (mean
of 15.71), it could not be established that it
was statistically different from those who
admitted going shopping when they
had no other option (mean of 15.93,
CONCLUSIONS. LIMITATIONS
AND FUTURE RESEARCH
This study analysed the attitudes of
individuals towards (their) future from a
marketing viewpoint and contrasted
related hypotheses. It is well known that
subjects' beliefs about the future have an
influence on their consumption
behaviour. Although the subject has been
discussed in the literature, this has been
spending trends or upon time/future
orientations. Prior to this study, little
attention had been paid to attitudinal
analysis towards the future and the way
it affects specific purchase patterns.
A representative study of the Spanish
population was used in order to analyse
attitudes towards the future. The scale
used presented a suitable reliability
level to be implemented. CATF has a
bi-factorial structure that opposes the
volitive with the cognitive-emotional
dimensions, and presents an acceptable
goodness-of-fit to a WeibuU function. It
was found that the formation of three
attitudinal levels was suitable because
the hit ratio was 93 per cent.
Weibull distribution is a heavy tails
statistical function widely used to
describe epidemics, survival periods, life
cycle of products, time to perform a task
or for the component of a product to fail
(ie phenomena where time action is
essential). This statistical behaviour
could respond to the fact that the
attitudinal level produced is not only in
relation to what one believes about the
future, but also the mental distance
(subjective time period) established
between the present and that future. As
the Weibull function is used to shape
lifetimes it is not illogical to think that this
function describes the empirical
distribution of CATF correctly.
This work has three limitations. First,
the database used was taken from a
closed survey where it was not feasible to

416 Journal of Consumer Behaviour Vol. 4,6,407-419 Copyright © 2005 John wiiey & Sons, Ltd. 1472-0817
 Consumer attitudes towards the future and some purchase patterns
carry out a pre-test. The further
introduction of items, the modification of
existing ones and the widening of the
point categories (to five or seven points)
perhaps could have improved the
results. Secondly, while the fieldwork
was being performed a consequential
feature was introduced. During 1998
Spain experienced a period of economic
bounty and there was a feeling of
optimism in consumption and industrial
production. The government of the
nation had already issued the motto
'Spain goes well', which was repeated
time and again and accepted as
satisfactory by the people. By 2005, the
economy has started to show signs of
weakness and the optimism of 1998 has
faded away. This fact necessarily
conditions the current CATF and
perhaps the shape of the statistical
function. The third limitation is related to
the absence of data in order to study
convergent and discriminant validity,
although there is content validity. The
survey used did not offer that possibility
and that fact will have to be dealt with in
future studies.
Attitudes towards the future are
important in order to understand
actual consumer behaviour or if such
attitudes are produced in the short or
medium term. There are three basic
topics for further research. First, and
due to the need to measure in science,
the CATF scale should be perfected,
so as to obtain a high degree of reliability
and validity (not only measuring
through internal consistency, but also
through its test/retest stability), to
achieve a greater depth of knowledge
of the CATF structure and define its
statistical behaviour. Secondly, as
the future is a construct with cultural,
anthropological, psychological and
sociological roots, an interdisciplinary
approach is called for in order to
study CATF, and the analysis of its
relationship with 'future time
orientation' and 'future orientation'.
Finally, the influence of CATF on the
adoption of purchase patterns by
Journal of Consumer Behaviour vol. 4,6,407-419 Copyright © 2005 John wiiey & Sons, Ltd. 1472-0817
consumers as well as its development
through time also need further study.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author wishes to thank the
anonymous reviewer and editor for their
comments on an earlier version of this
work.
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