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To explore US consumers' perceptions of the level of fun associated with non‐price retail promotions and to predict likelihood of participation among demographic groups.

The study employs a sample generated from retail forward panel data (n=500) to assess the impact of demographic variables including gender, age, educational attainment, income and household size on consumer perceptions and likelihood of participation in five types of non‐price retail promotions. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques (t‐tests, regression) are used to evaluate the data.

Identifies demographic groups who perceive high levels of fun associated with non‐price retail promotions and examines relationships between demographics and likelihood of participation in these types of promotions.

Generalizations of the findings of this study to markets outside the USA are limited due to the differences in consumers and forms of retail promotion within various markets. Future studies could examine perceptions of non‐price retail promotions across international markets as well as identify additional predictors of response to non‐price retail promotions.

This research provides retailers that operate within the USA specific knowledge of consumers' perceptions of non‐price retail promotions and identifies demographic characteristics of consumers who are likely to participate in such activities. As price competition in the sector continues to evolve, understanding non‐price forms of competition is critical to superior performance and survival in the industry.

This exploratory study uses demographics as a framework for examining consumers' perceptions of and likelihood of participation in non‐price retail promotions. The paper is unique because there are few similar empirical studies focused specifically on non‐price retail promotions.

Many studies have examined the short‐term and long‐term effects of price promotions. This study adds to previous research by examining, in some depth, the effects of a massively successful price promotion in a consumer goods category. This study sought to determine if this large price promotion had any: longer‐term effect on brand volume; short‐term effect on total category volume for the retailer; short‐term effect on competing retailers; and longer‐term effect on category sales for the retailer that ran the promotion. The results showed that this promotion did not have any longer‐term (positive or negative) effect on the brand, but it did expand the total category for the retailer, albeit temporarily. Sales dropped slightly for one competing retailer at the time of the promotion, but not for the other two retailers in the market. Finally, the study found that the promotion was followed by a decline in total category volume for the retailer, suggesting some degree of purchase acceleration or stockpiling by consumers. The results suggest that the longer‐term negative effect on category volume cancelled out approximately two thirds of the gains of the price promotion to the retailer.

Focuses on consumer evaluations of store preference when presented with promotional deals that are equivalent on a unit‐cost basis and/or are equivalent on a total cost basis but are worded differently. An experimental design setting is used to examine the effect of three deal frames: one, stated in terms of a straight price promotion (“50 percent off”), the second, as an extra‐product or volume promotion (“buy one, get one free”), and a third as a “mixed” promotion (“buy two, get 50 percent off”). Four typical supermarket product categories are considered in a shopping scenario to investigate the effect of two category‐based moderating factors: product stock‐up characteristic and price level. Results show that the nature of framing significantly affects consumer deal preference and store preference even though the deals are equivalent on a unit cost basis and two of the deals are also equivalent on a total cost basis.

Prior hospitality studies have reviewed review trustworthiness and perceived price as predictors of restaurant selection. However, the impacts of these two factors may vary by sales promotion and customer types. This study aims to determine whether sales promotions and customer type are the key elements that facilitate behavioral intentions by moderating the linkage between perceived price and behavioral intentions as well as the linkage between online review trustworthiness and behavioral intentions.

Analysis of the responses of 533 individuals familiar with the Michelin Guide for restaurants in Seoul provided evidence supporting a sales promotion theory wherein promotions signal benefits in consumers’ minds.

The findings show that when perceived price is positive and the trustworthiness of online reviews is high, repeat customers prefer mixed coupons to price discounts. Notably, the results indicate that when the trustworthiness of online reviews is high, first-time customers also prefer mixed coupons to price discounts. Furthermore, the findings suggest that negative evaluations of perceived price increase the impact of mixed coupons by signaling to first-time customers that given restaurants’ offerings provide monetary benefits regardless of their intentions to revisit said restaurants.

The study findings provide insights that should help managers better understand various levels of promotion. Managers can design their pricing strategies to strengthen customers’ motivations to visit their restaurants – the very thing customers often seek in sales promotions.

This study provides indisputable evidence for a sales promotion theory, wherein promotions signal benefits in consumers’ minds; however, it also shows that first-time and repeat customers do not respond equally to sales promotions.

This paper aims to investigate the extent to which temporary price promotions attract people who do not normally buy a brand, and whether buyers change their propensity to buy the promoted brand afterwards.

The study analyses promotions in 18 consumer goods categories in the UK and USA. It calculates the proportion of promotion purchasers that have bought a brand at least once in their last five purchases and the Share of Category Requirements of those purchasers. These figures are then compared to normal-price purchasers.

The study finds the majority of price-promotion buyers already bought the brand at least once in their last five category purchases (average = 77 per cent). This figure is similar to that for normal-price purchases (average = 81 per cent). Average Household SCR to the brand is also very similar for price-promotion purchases compared to normal price purchases. Therefore, promotions do not attract a markedly different mix of buyers. Furthermore, buyer propensity to buy the brand is the same after a promotion purchase as it was before.

A contribution of the paper is that it supports a theory of consumers as cognitive misers, who screen out promotion information about unfamiliar brands. The paper also highlights that in packaged-goods markets, consumers can be generally seen as experienced buyers, who do not learn new information from buying brands they have previously purchased.

The managerial implication is that price promotions must be judged on their immediate profitability. There seems little recourse to the idea they can result in “try it, like it, buy it again later” effects.

While many studies have examined the effects of price promotions, this is the first to explicitly compare the mix of buyers attracted from a price promotion to that which occurs when a brand is sold at normal price.

Uncertain level discount (ULD) is a type of promotion combining regular discount (RD) with uncertainty. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of ULD on consumers’ perceived quality compared with RD and to identify the relevant influencing mechanism and boundary for the effectiveness of ULD.

Three online experiments were conducted with 445 participants from China. First, experiment 1 compares the attractiveness of ULD and RD. Second, experiment 2 evaluates the impacts of ULD and RD on consumers’ perceived quality and clarifies the mechanism in this process. Finally, experiment 3 examines the moderating effect of product knowledge.

ULD has the same level of attractiveness as RD with equivalent expected discount value for consumers. Besides, consumers in ULD give higher ratings to product quality compared with those in RD, and the lower diagnosticity of price cues in ULD underlies the differential effects of ULD vs RD. Furthermore, product knowledge moderates the relationship between the two promotions and perceived quality.

The findings provide valuable guidance for managers to conduct promotional campaigns. ULD is an effective promotion to attract consumers to purchase with keeping consumers’ perceived quality high, and such effectiveness will rise for products that consumers are unfamiliar with. Managers can make rational use of ULD to achieve positive promotion results in both the short and long term.

Few studies pay attention to the long-term effects of the uncertain promotion. This research profoundly investigates the impact of ULD on perceived quality, which complements existing studies from a more integrated perspective that combines short- and long-term effects. Also, this research identifies the mechanism based on the cue diagnosticity theory and puts forward a new explanation for positive uncertainty in uncertain promotions. Finally, this research applies the impact of product knowledge on information process strategies into the uncertain promotion, which clarifies the utility boundary of ULD from a new perspective and offers a more comprehensive understanding for this promotion.

The purpose of this paper is to examine two popular price promotion strategies – price matching guarantees (PMGs) and everyday low prices (EDLP) – and their effects on Chilean consumer behavior in terms of consumer perceptions of low prices, search behavior and purchase intention.

A quasi experiment with three scenarios was conducted to test price promotion effects. Subjects were instructed to respond a questionnaire that included the dependent variables.

Results show that EDLP and PMG strategies increase perceptions of low prices and affect purchase intentions. These effects are significantly higher for stores offering EDLP than PMG. However, when consumers are exposed to two or more price promotion strategies (rather than one) they reduce their purchase intentions for a specific store and increase their search intentions.

This is an initial study exploring the effects of price promotion strategies on consumers. Future research could test the hypotheses advanced in the study across different samples and contexts (supermarkets, department stores, convenience stores, and other retailers) and might privilege external validity, using experiments mimicking decisions with real consequences.

Retailers and marketers in Latin America – particularly those companies stressing price or value as their differential advantage – should consider the use of price promotions when designing marketing strategies. On the other hand, retailers should be aware that an intensive use of these of promotions could lead to increases in consumer search behavior.

While findings from the USA suggest that price promotion strategies can be effective in several contexts, there has been a limited number of studies addressing whether such strategies are effective in other countries, particularly in Latin America and emerging nations.

This paper aims to examine the effect of targeted promotions on perceptions of fairness from the perspective of consumers who are not targeted.

A scenario-based approach is used. Three studies manipulating promotion selectivity and various bases for promotion selection were conducted. A total of 403 people participated in the studies.

Results showed that these consumers consider targeted promotions unfair, and the primary reason is centered more on damage to relational identity than the economics of reduced perceived value. The effect is moderated by how the targeted promotion is delivered (buyer-discovered vs seller-delivered) and different basis for selection.

As companies adopting the practice of dynamic pricing such as targeted promotion, it is important to manage relationship with their consumers. Framing targeted promotions that reduce the salience of seller’s role and provide explanations that not attributed to buyer-seller relationship are important in reducing the potential damage of targeted promotion on relational identity.

Existing research on perceptions of price fairness has focused on the role of perceived value. This research tested the relative effect of perceived value, relational identity and personal identity in the context of targeted promotion and identified relational identity as the major mechanism.

This paper investigates a dual-channel supply chain in which a manufacturer offers coupons in the online channel and the retailer in the offline channel. The optimal pricing and coupon promotion policies are explored, and the brand image under different promotion scenarios is studied.

Three differential game models, namely no coupon is offered, coupons offered by the manufacturer and coupons offered by the retailer, are constructed.

The results show that the manufacturer and retailer intend to conduct coupon promotions under a large coupon redemption rate. Coupon promotion derives a higher price and profit for the issuers, and the manufacturer can free-ride on the retailer's coupon promotion. The retailer's profit in the retailer-promotion scenario may be lower than that in the manufacturer-promotion scenario in some special conditions. Besides, price, coupon face value, brand image and profit increase over time. After multiple cycles game, the operational strategy evolves to an optimal equilibrium status.

This paper provides guidance and advice for dual-channel supply enterprises to implement joint pricing and coupon promotion strategies under multiple sales seasons.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how consumers respond differently to “scratch and save (SAS)” promotions versus “tensile price claims (TPC).” SAS promotions provide a possible discount (determined probabilistically) but conceal the exact amount until purchase. Tensile price claims (e.g. “up to 25 percent off on items marked with a red tag”) make imprecise price promotional claims. In addition to making indefinite price claims, SAS promotions (e.g. scratch and save up to 25 percent off) include gambling elements; the exact discount is determined randomly for individual consumers by a scratch‐off card.

Two experimental studies are conducted.

Evidence from two experiments indicates that consumers perceive SAS promotions to be more ambiguous than tensile price claims. In addition, the results demonstrate consumer uncertainty towards SAS promotions but also consumer willingness to gamble: deep discount SAS promotions are perceived as more attractive than limited‐scope tensile price claims.

The findings suggest that consumers perceive SAS offers more enticing than limited tensile price claims as the proposed discount increases. Furthermore, establishing a minimum savings offer could be used to encourage consumers to shop at retailers offering SAS promotions.

Limited work has focused on examining how consumers respond to SAS promotions because SAS promotions are a relatively new store‐level promotional tool. Furthermore, no research effort has been extended to directly compare consumers' perceptions of SAS promotions with tensile price claims.