Thinking like consumers: How consumer representations can inform consumer research on savings

Money, and especially savings, is a major individual and collective issue. Yet, despite academic research and public initiatives, little is known about individual savings behavior and household savings remain insufficient. By re-analyzing theoretical frameworks and potential determinants of savings, we can question ourselves about the relationship to the reality of the definitions and meanings of savings as they are elaborated and structured by most literature on savings. In this perspective, we formulate several research questions to compare consumers' definitions and meanings of savings with their academic transcriptions. Our research, mixing classical content analysis and NLP techniques, highlights the differences between literature and how consumers try to save. It allows us to better understand individuals' savings behaviors and expectations. Our results call attention to the importance of renewing the analysis of savings behavior and management practices by focusing on what kind of saving decisions are taken by consumers and their conditions.