Time-Intensive Goods

Goods in which the primary input cost for consumption is time rather than money. Social media platforms, video streaming services, mobile games, and podcasts are canonical examples. The concept derives from Gary Becker’s time-allocation theory (1965), which formalizes time as a scarce resource that competes with monetary expenditure in consumer choice.

In markets for time-intensive goods, competitive dynamics operate through time-share competition rather than price competition. The time a user invests accumulates as habit formation and sunk social costs, creating switching barriers that are psychologically distinct from financial switching costs — and often more durable.