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Taking a mental accounting theory perspective, this study explores how pricing strategy (all-inclusive vs partitioned) influences consumers' perceived residual value of a product and their subsequent intentions to upgrade to a newer model.

A pilot study and two formal experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses.

A partitioned (vs all-inclusive) price causes consumers to later recall a lower total cost and perceive lower residual value for the existing product, thereby increasing upgrade intentions. This finding holds for both utilitarian and hedonic products. Perceived residual value mediates the impact of the pricing strategy on upgrade intentions. The pricing strategy effect is stronger for state-oriented individuals than for action-oriented individuals.

This study extends understanding of the impact of pricing strategies from consumers' short-term immediate demand to long-term upgrade intentions. It also identifies a previously uninvestigated moderator (action-state orientation), clarifying the boundary conditions of pricing strategy effects. The study's conceptual framework links pricing strategy, sunk costs, perceived residual value and upgrade intentions, providing rich insights and potential research paths. These findings further enhance understanding of upgrade intentions.

Previous research indicates that the goals consumers have when shopping influence their attention to and processing of information they encounter. The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of consumers' pre‐purchase goals on their responses to price promotions.

In three experiments, the existence of consumer goals (i.e. with or without a pre‐purchase goal) were manipulated and promotion characteristics including message framing, promotion format, and promotion depth were systematically varied to examine how consumers respond to these price promotions.

Consumers with a pre‐purchase goal were found to be more attracted to the promotion than those without a goal. More importantly, pre‐purchase goals interact with promotion characteristics and produce differential effects on willingness to buy. Consumers with a pre‐purchase goal are more attracted to promotions emphasizing reduced losses while those without a goal responded more favorably toward promotions emphasizing gains. Moreover, consumers with and without a pre‐purchase goal respond differently to various discount levels.

Existing research on price promotions has not examined the influence of consumers' pre‐purchase goals. This paper brings a new dimension to price promotion research. Understanding these variations in pre‐purchase goals across consumers will help sellers design more effective promotion programs

This research examines the effects of bundling format (partially‐bundled attributes vs. unbundled attributes) and framing of promotional discounts (rebate, discount and free‐options) on perceived quality, price acceptability, perceived value and subsequent purchase intentions. The results indicate that price reductions that are framed as providing “free” product options are perceived more favorably than conventional discounts which, in turn, are more favorable than rebates, holding the total amount of a price reduction constant. The results also suggest that unbundling of deals (or segregation of gains) enhances these perceptions.

Multi-unit discounts (MUDs, e.g. “3 for $4”) typically increase sales relative to other discounting frames. This study demonstrates the value of MUDs by showing that positive multi-unit price/quantity signals are potent enough to match and even exceed the sales produced by larger discounts on single items. However, there is reason to believe that MUDs can produce neutral effects in some cases (e.g. among consumers interested in only single-unit purchases) and even negative effects in others. In addition, the study considers whether MUDs can, in some cases, reduce purchase quantities by signaling smaller-than-otherwise-planned purchase amounts and/or lower-quality products.

The effectiveness of MUDs is tested in both the field and lab. Study 1 models purchase quantities stemming from 2,374 purchases of discounted items at a mass retailer. Purchased products ranged in type from pantry items to apparel and electronics, and ranged in price from 44¢ to $99.99. There were 1,530 single-unit discounts, 596 two-unit discounts and 248 discounts, involving three or more units. Study 2 consists of a laboratory experiment that overcomes the shortcomings of Study 1 by accounting for non-purchasers, controlling for product classes and testing whether smaller MUDs can lead to lower purchase quantities for larger-purchase-quantity products.

The results of both the field study and the laboratory experiment indicate that MUDs’ monetary cue (savings) and purchase-quantity cue (volume) increase purchase quantities. Generally, purchase quantities increased monotonically with the number of units offered in the discount. In fact, the quantity cue is so effective that it can increase sales enough as to substitute for larger discounts. However, in some instances, MUDs can decrease intended purchase quantities. The negative effect of MUDs is the most pronounced for larger unit deals, offering deeper discounts on perishable goods.

This research is the first to demonstrate that the power of the signals provided by MUDs may be so positive as to lead them to be more effective than discounts of substantially larger value but also so negative as to render them less effective than single-units discounts. This negative outcome poses a threat beyond those typically associated with discounts, in that rather than consumers simply discounting a discount, in which case the discount remains positive even if their impact at the margin wanes, the MUD frame may actually reduce sales.

This paper aims to present a model linking price promotions to checkout donations. It is argued that price promotions evoke two perceptions/emotions, namely, feelings of gratitude and perceived sacrifice of purchase, which consequently, influence the likelihood to donate. Feelings of gratitude dominate when the discount is high, while feelings of sacrifice dominate when the discount is low. Compared to no-discount situations, high discounts enhance consumers’ intention to donate while low discounts reduce this intention.

A total of four studies using shopping scenarios are conducted. Study 1 examines the main effect and the mediating factors. Study 2 replicates the findings in different product categories and at different unit-price levels. Studies 3 and 4 test the moderating effects of customer effort and discount framing.

Findings of the four studies provide support for the proposed model. Compared to no-discount situations, high discounts enhance consumers’ intention to donate, while low discounts reduce this intention. The effects are mediated by feelings of gratitude and sacrifice and moderated by effort obtaining the discount and format of the discount.

Theoretically, this research advances the understanding of consumers’ interpretations of price promotions. All studies are conducted in an online context.

This research informs retailers and charity institutions on the best timing for soliciting checkout donations and indicates specific tactics to enhance consumers’ donations.

This is the first study linking price discounts to the growing phenomenon of checkout donations. The research is different from cause marketing where the donation is included in the price of a specific product. The work also differs from studies examining the spillover effect where additional purchases benefit the consumers instead of a cause.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how perceived performance risk moderates consumers' evaluations of different types of promotions, including extra free product promotions (e.g. buy‐one‐get‐one‐free deals or BOGOFs) and price discounts (e.g. 50 per cent off). Some evidence shows that consumers prefer extra free products to discounts because of mental accounting, and the way that these different types of promotions are framed. This research explores a new moderating link in the consumer behaviour literature by showing that perceived performance risk, through its effect on a consumer's tendency to stockpile, moderates consumers' evaluations of extra free product promotions and price discounts.

This research uses a cross‐sectional experiment to manipulate perceived performance risk, type of promotion and promotion size, and measures consumers' value perceptions and purchase intentions. The experimental method provides greater internal validity and addresses calls in the literature for more experimental research in pricing and sales promotion studies.

The results indicate a clear and strong moderating effect for perceived risk on consumer value perceptions and preferences for extra free product promotions and price discounts. Specifically, for products low on performance risk consumers tend to attribute higher value to extra free product promotions than they do to discounts. The reverse occurs for products high on performance risk where consumers attribute higher value perceptions towards price discounts than they do to extra free product promotions. These findings have implications for a variety of different product categories including innovative new products, products with higher absolute promotion levels, and other categories where perceived risk is likely to vary.

These findings are consistent with and extend the literature on sales promotions by showing that existing theory holds for products low on performance risk, but that the theory should be extended for products high on performance risk. Therefore, retailers and managers should think carefully about how to frame promotions based on consumer perceived risk. The findings here highlight and present a more complete picture of the implications of different promotional types.

A variety of studies have examined consumer response to the design of a promotional offer (e.g. discount size, absolute versus relative amounts). Yet few studies have compared and examined consumer response to monetary and nonmonetary promotions. This study is the first study to examine the moderating role of perceived performance risk on consumer perceptions of different promotional frames and contributes by integrating literature in the area of perceived risk with literature in the area of sales promotions to provide a broader theory of consumer response to different promotional deals.

This paper aims to examine the effect of price promotion presentation formats on consumers’ green purchase intentions across various levels of greenness. Despite the increasing awareness of environmental issues and green products among consumers, there is a gap between their green attitude and purchase intentions. Previous studies show that consumers’ degree of greenness varies and that price plays an important role in their green consumption decision-making.

Two between-subject experiments with 236 participants were used to examine our hypotheses and conceptual model.

The results show that different formats of price promotion presentations influence consumers’ purchase perceptions differently. Consumers with a high degree of greenness are attracted to promotions emphasizing gain, while those with a low degree of greenness prefer promotions underlining reduced loss. In addition, medium-greenness consumers show similar reactions to both formats. Our studies further demonstrate that consumers’ perceived value mediates the moderated effects of perceived quality and perceived savings on green purchase intentions.

This research helps marketers better design price promotions, taking into account the various levels of consumers’ greenness. The focus of reduced loss or gain of the promotional programs should be targeted at consumers with different levels of greenness.

This is the first paper to examine the role of price promotion presentation formats in consumer decision-making regarding green consumption. The study provides new insights concerning how to design price promotions to enhance the green purchase intentions of consumers.

Based on mental accounting theory, this study explored whether the comparability of missed and subsequent promotional formats/frames affects inaction inertia.

Four experiments with imaginary and incentive-compatible designs were conducted to test the hypotheses.

Consumers are more likely to express inaction inertia after having missed a comparable promotion than after having missed a noncomparable promotion. Devaluation of the promoted target mediates the impact of comparability on inaction inertia, while referent others' actions do not moderate the comparability effect. Finally, when consumers accept a subsequent inferior promotion, they prefer using a different payment format because it reduces comparability of the two promotions.

Companies should use different promotional formats/frames to reduce comparability and inaction inertia when a new promotion is relatively inferior to a recent previous one. Companies should offer different payment options to help customers actively avoid comparing a current promotion with a missed promotion.

This study provides a more comprehensive conceptual structure for understanding the relationship between psychological comparability and inaction inertia. It provides insights into what actions companies should take to reduce inaction inertia. Furthermore, this study empirically tests the influence of multiple comparison referents, which provides a reference point for future studies on the factors affecting inaction inertia. A new method to examine whether consumers actively avoid comparisons is used, which clarifies the internal mechanism of inaction inertia.

Although the evidence exists for the effect of promotional frame on repurchase intention, it is unclear whether the timing of repurchase can moderate the effect. In this paper, three experiments were conducted to answer this question.

In Experiment 1, a 2 (framing: bundle vs. gift) × 2 (repurchase target: focal vs. supplementary) × 2 (timing: short vs. long) between-subjects design was used. In Experiment 2, an identical design was used except that repurchase target being the within-subjects factor. In Experiment 3, the design was based on that of Experiment 2 and brand was added a between-subjects factor.

Experiment 1 showed that, with a short interval, repurchase intention under gift frame was higher than that under bundle frame. With a long interval, there was no significant difference between the gift and bundle frames. Experiment 2, however, indicated no effects for expensive products. Experiment 3 showed that brand (private versus national brand) moderate the interaction between framing, repurchase target and timing. Particularly, for private brand, no significant comparisons were found; for national brand, repurchase intention for the focal product was significantly higher than for the supplementary product, but only under the conditions of long interval and gift frame (rather than bundle frame).

Taken together, findings from the current study contributes to the literature by showing for the first time that repurchase timing can moderate the promotional frame effect (i.e. higher repurchase intention under gift framing relative to bundle framing occurs in the short interval but not long interval) and that brand type can moderate the joint effects of framing, timing and repurchase target (i.e. national brand, rather than private brand, paired with long interval and gift frame results in higher repurchase intention for the focal product). The findings provide marketers with important knowledge in terms of how to adjust a promotional frame depending on when consumers repurchase a product and whether the product has a private or national brand.