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“Relative Discount”or“Absolute Discount”? Consumers’ Preference for Discount Presentation in Different Purchase Types
DUAN Shen, WANG Zhe, LI Yuanyuan
2021, 30 (6):
1025-1040.
doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1005-2542.2021.06.001
In a promotion situation, consumers often encounter two kinds of discounts: absolute discount (For instance, the original price is RMB 299 Yuan, and the immediate reduction is RMB 69 Yuan.) and relative discount (For instance, the original price is RMB 299 Yuan, now it is sold at a discount of 20%.). However, the existing research on the relative merits of the two kinds of discounts has not reached a consistent conclusion, leading to the lack of clear strategies for a businessman to choose the representation method of discount promotion, especially when consumers are in different types of consumption situations. In view of this, this paper explores the matching effect of consumption type and discount mode through four experiments based on the evaluability theory. First, the exploratory experiment 1A preliminarily verifies that more consumers choose absolute discount promotion advertisements in the material purchase situation whereas more consumers choose relative discount promotion advertisements in the experiential purchase situation, providing preliminary evidence for the matching effect between the purchase type and discount mode. Next, experiment 1B verifies the conclusion of experiment 1A again by laboratory experiments and changing the control and measurement methods, i.e., consumers have a higher purchase intention for the absolute discount target product in the material purchase situation. On the contrary, in the experiential buying situation, consumers have a higher purchase intention for relative discount, which further expands the external validity of the study. After that, laboratory 2 verifies that the degree of assessability is the mediating mechanism of the above matching effect. Finally, experiment 3 verifies the cognitive load state of the individual, i.e., the boundary condition for the existence of the effect. Specifically, the matching effect of the purchase type and discount mode only exists when consumers are in the state of low cognitive load, and the effect disappears when consumers are in the state of high cognitive load. This paper expands the relevant theories of purchase types, calculation comparison method, and evaluation mode, providing practical guidance for merchants to formulate discount promotion strategies.
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