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Neural and behavioral evidence of free shipping on consumer decision making.

Overview

Authors: Youngju Lee1, Yoonsang Lee1,2, Kyeong Seob Song3, Ji-Won Chun3,4, Dongha Lee1
ORCID iDs: Youngju Lee, Yoonsang Lee, Dongha Lee
  1. Cognitive Science Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, Republic of Korea
  2. School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
  3. Department of Medical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  4. CMC Institute for Basic Medical Science, The Catholic Medical Center of The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Institutions: Georgia Institute of Technology (United States); Korea Brain Research Institute (South Korea); Catholic University of Korea (South Korea); The Catholic University of Korea Catholic Medical Center (South Korea)
Journal: PloS one, volume 21, issue 5, article e0349032
Dates: received 3 September 2025; accepted 23 April 2026; published online 13 May 2026
Type: Research article · Language: English
License: CC BY
Identifiers: DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0349032 · PMID 42127132 · PMCID PMC13170860 · OpenAlex W7161005159
Open access: gold, a free copy (OpenAlex)
Status: data only
Categories: fMRI (modality), human (organism), cognitive (subfield)
Methods: Connectivity, Statistics, fMRI & imaging
MeSH: Consumer Behavior*, Decision Making*, Prefrontal Cortex*, Adult, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Reaction Time, Young Adult (* major topic)
Topic: Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies (Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuroscience), according to OpenAlex
Funding: Korea Brain Research Institute; National Research Foundation; Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea
Citations: not cited yet (Europe PMC); 54 references in the paper

Abstract

The rise in online shopping has heightened consumer frustration, as many are reluctant to pay additional charges. Understanding the neural mechanisms of decision-making underlying this resistance could provide key insights into consumer behavior. However, research on these neural correlates remains limited. To address this gap, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study examining the relationship between shipping fee combinations and purchasing decisions. During fMRI scanning, 40 participants evaluated their intention to purchase shoes with varying shipping fees, while the total price remained constant. Behavioral measures included purchase intention rating, reaction time (RT), and the Rate Intention Score, calculated by dividing the mean purchase intention score by RT. Behavioral data revealed a clear preference for free shipping, with distinct blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) responses in free shipping choices across shipping fee conditions. Comparisons between free shipping and the lowest shipping fee showed strong emotional preferences for free shipping, reflected in positive BOLD signals of the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC). fMRI analysis revealed that the most significant differences stemmed from variations in shipping fees, particularly between free shipping and the lowest shipping fee, highlighting the unique appeal of free shipping. As shipping fees increased, emotional influences diminished, shifting cognitive processing to the ventrolateral PFC. Additionally, increased BOLD responses in the precentral gyrus under the free-shipping option indicated its involvement in decision execution. An integrated behavioral and neural data analysis offers valuable insights into the mechanisms that influence real-world purchasing decisions.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

The paper links to its data, not to its authors' code: see the Data section.

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Data

Datasets cited

Data Availability

All stimuli and data used in this study are available on the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/ku26v.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Versions

The history of this record: each version stored by the harvester or made by a correction of its authors or of the maintainers of its code, and what changed in its facts. The texts of the paper (its abstract, its availability statements) are not part of it; versions that changed only those are not listed.

Version 2, 28 September 2026

  • Funding: added Korea Brain Research Institute; National Research Foundation; Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea

Version 1, 28 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 5 authors, 10 MeSH terms, 53 references.

Cite

This paper

Lee, Y., Lee, Y., Song, K. S., Chun, J.-W., & Lee, D. (2026). Neural and behavioral evidence of free shipping on consumer decision making. PloS one, 21(5), e0349032. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0349032

BibTeX

@article{lee2026neural,
author = {Lee, Youngju and Lee, Yoonsang and Song, Kyeong Seob and Chun, Ji-Won and Lee, Dongha},
title = {{Neural and behavioral evidence of free shipping on consumer decision making}},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2026},
month = may,
volume = {21},
number = {5},
pages = {e0349032},
publisher = {PLOS},
issn = {1932-6203},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0349032},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0349032},
pmid = {42127132},
pmcid = {PMC13170860}
}

RIS

TY - JOUR
AU - Lee, Youngju
AU - Lee, Yoonsang
AU - Song, Kyeong Seob
AU - Chun, Ji-Won
AU - Lee, Dongha
TI - Neural and behavioral evidence of free shipping on consumer decision making
T2 - PloS one
J2 - PLoS One
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/13
VL - 21
IS - 5
SP - e0349032
SN - 1932-6203
PB - PLOS
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0349032
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0349032
LA - en
ER -

CSL-JSON

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