“Out of Sight, Out of Mind”: The Impact of Household Stockpiling on Usage Rates   
​Pantry stockpiling

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Summary

Does Pantry Stockpiling Accelerate Usage?
If you have 24 cans of soup, will you eat it more frequently than if you only had 8 cans? It has long been suggested that stockpiling caused by promotion increases how often people use a product. However,  recent findings suggest this is not always the case.
In a study of 219 adults, researchers from the Food and Brand Lab found that stockpiled products are used more frequently when they are visible and seen as versatile. When people with stockpiled levels of soup were asked to recall the last time they ate soup, then asked how much soup they intended to use in the next two weeks, their answers were double that of the normal group. *
In addition, when a product has multiple uses, stockpiling will increase usage of the product. In the study, people who believed soup to be more versatile used nearly twice as much soup as those with lower feelings on versatility.
If you utilize soup for not only a quick meal but also for packing in a thermos for lunch or a side dish for dinner or an ingredient in a meal, stockpiling will increase usage frequency. When a person can use a product in many situations around the house, it gets used more, and therefore products can benefit from promotion–induced stockpiling.
Researchers conclude that stockpiling will increase usage when:
  • The product is frequently consumed
  • The product is stored in a salient location (table, counter, front of cupboard)
  • The household is frequently reminded about the product and its uses through marketing
"Products are frequently purchased and forgotten–out of sight out of mind," said Dr. Brian Wansink, director of the Food and Brand Lab. To increase the usage of those often forgotten stockpiled products, you need to increase the number of thoughts about the product. "Move the cans of soup to the front of cupboard where they are visible. This will increase the chance of the product getting used. "
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Wansink, Brian and Rohit Deshpandé (1994).  "Out of Sight, Out of Mind": The Impact of Household Stockpiling on Usage Rates. Marketing Letters, 5(1 ), 91–100.

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