Less cash, more splash? A meta-analysis on the cashless effect

Abstract

Over 40 years of research links cashless payment methods to increased consumer spending. Referred to as the “cashless effect,” this phenomenon has recently come under scrutiny as consumers are increasingly familiar with non-cash methods which could weaken the cashless effect, while other research challenges the robustness of the effect and questions which conditions could strengthen or weaken it. The current study contributes to reaching a consensus in this ongoing debate through a large-scale meta-analysis leveraging a meta-analytical framework that synthesizes the insights from the extant literature. Across 392 effect sizes from 71 papers, we reveal a small, but significant, cashless effec..