The Cost of Free: The Effects of “Wait-for-Free” Pricing Schemes on the Monetization of Serialized Digital Content
Choi, A. A., Rhee, K. E., Yoon, C., & Oh, W. (2023). The Cost of Free: The Effects of “Wait-for-Free” Pricing Schemes on the Monetization of Serialized Digital Content. MIS Quarterly: Management Information Systems.
Plain-English take: Wait-for-free pricing generated new demand and increased serialized-content sales, with sustained long-run profits in the reported setting. As users accumulated free episodes, conversion to instant purchase rose up to a threshold and then declined; one free episode could raise purchase likelihood by up to 13%. Founder-use interpretation: Use this as a question to test in your own product context, not as a universal benchmark. The publisher describes digital entertainment rather than B2B software and does not disclose the platform/sample count in the record. Thus transfer to SaaS trial design, usage limits, and enterprise pricing is an open empirical question.
Question: The Cost of Free: The Effects of “Wait-for-Free” Pricing Schemes on the Monetization of Serialized Digital Content?
Design: Peer-reviewed empirical study or research synthesis. Serialized digital entertainment content on online platforms, where users can wait to obtain an episode free or pay immediately. The publisher record does not disclose the platform identity or a respondent count.
Wait-for-free pricing generated new demand and increased serialized-content sales, with sustained long-run profits in the reported setting. As users accumulated free episodes, conversion to instant purchase rose up to a threshold and then declined; one free episode could raise purchase likelihood by up to 13%.