New research suggests mind wandering can actually increase purchase intent when the purchase is still some distance away.

Marketers put tons of effort into trying to STOP us from zoning out.

With shorter videos. Faster cuts, sharper hooks, more movement and greater urgency.

The assumption is obvious: if our attention wanders, the marketing failed.

A new study shows that’s not quite true.

Researchers looked at what happens when people’s minds drift while they’re processing product information.

Across three studies, including randomized experiments, secondary sales data and eye-tracking validation, they found that higher levels of mind wandering increased purchase intention when the purchase was farther in the future. 

The reason appears to be memory.

When people’s minds wandered, they retained more of the gist and less of the exact wording or detail.

For a purchase happening soon, that didn’t make much difference.

But for something farther away, like a trip six months from now, a laptop pre-order or another future purchase, that broad memory of what the product was about could actually help.

That’s interesting because marketers often design as if every message needs complete concentration.

What if it doesn’t?

If I’m planning a vacation next spring, I may not remember the hotel’s exact room dimensions, breakfast hours or cancellation language after seeing an ad.

But I will probably remember stuff like:

Quiet.

Walkable.

Awesome view.

Perfect for MY family.

And six weeks later, that might just be enough to bring the hotel back into consideration.

The study’s authors argue that mind wandering can be useful when the marketing and the buying horizon fit together.

For more distant purchases, abstract product benefits and future-oriented framing may work better because they align with the kind of gist people retain when attention drifts.

Of course, that doesn’t mean attention no longer matters.

It means attention may be way less binary than marketers make it out to be.

A customer can stop concentrating on your message and still walk away with the part that counts.

One of the ideas I explore in I Need That is how fantasy is a huge part of how we become compelled to buy something. When an idea takes flight in our daydreams, it becomes part what I call the Third Self.

THAT’s often what sticks.

So if your product has a longer consideration period, the question might not be:

How do I keep them focused on every word?

But more like:

What’s the one idea I want to linger when their mind inevitably goes somewhere else?

If you’d like help creating and marketing products people feel compelled to buy, the product marketing consultants at Graphos Product can help.