Cart Usage as a Decision Tool

What it measures

A three-item scale measuring the tendency to use the online shopping cart as a deliberate decision support tool — a mechanism for shortlisting, organising, and researching potential purchases rather than as a final step before checkout. Items capture the evaluative narrowing function (placing items to compare options), general information gathering use, and the cart as a research instrument. This construct distinguishes purposeful cart usage for decision-making from incidental or impulsive cart loading.

Response format

7-point frequency scale (never / always)

Scale items

• I place items in the shopping cart so I can more easily evaluate a narrowed-down set of options.
• I use the shopping cart as a form of information gathering.
• I use the shopping cart as a shopping research tool.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Single reliability estimate: α = .90 — Kukar-Kinney & Close (2010, main study). VALIDITY: Convergent and discriminant validity evidence reported. Response scale anchored at 'never' (1) and 'always' (7). Three actual items; a fourth entry in the original is a scale administration note. Part of the four-scale cart behaviour battery alongside Cart Abandonment (Concern about Order Costs) (CAOC), Cart Abandonment (Search for Better Price) (CASP), and Cart Abandonment Frequency (CARF).

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Kukar-Kinney, Monika and Angeline G. Close (2010). The determinants of consumers' online shopping cart abandonment. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(2), 240–250.

Keywords