A little something for me and maybe for you, too: Promotions that relieve guilt Sooyeon Nikki Lee-Wingate & Kim P. Corfman Published online: 16 October 2009 # Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2009 Abstract Guilt often accompanies and discourages self-indulgent, nonessential consumption. We show that gift-with-purchase promotions designed with careful attention to the nature of the gift and its intended user can reduce guilt by counterbalancing the self-indulgence or creating a favorable comparison with another’ s consumption. We find that gift-with-purchase promotions diminish guilt when (a) the gift is guilt-neutral (e.g., practical or necessary) and intended for use by the purchaser or when (b) the gift is guilt-inducing (e.g., hedonic or self-indulgent) and intended to be enjoyed by someone else. Keywords Consumer promotions . Gift-with-purchase promotions . Consumption guilt 1 Introduction Our society consumes a large volume of products and services unnecessary to our basic well-being. Despite this, our feelings and behaviors are influenced by the notion that consumption for practical purposes is justified, while nonessential, self- Mark Lett (2010) 21:385–395 DOI 10.1007/s11002-009-9093-2 S. N. Lee-Wingate (*) Charles F. Dolan School of Business, Fairfield University, 1073 North Benson Road, DSB 1114, Fairfield, Connecticut 06824, USA e-mail: slee-wingate@fairfield.edu K. P. Corfman Stern School of Business, New York University, 44 West Fourth Street, KMC 11-56, New York, New York 10012, USA e-mail: kcorfman@stern.nyu.edu