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Inaction inertia occurs when people are less likely to act on a similar but inferior option after missing a superior opportunity, compared to if they had not missed out. This study aims to explore how promotional formats and their sequence affect the inaction inertia effect in online shopping, under the assumption of economic equivalence.

The authors performed two online experiments and analyzed the data by analysis of variance.

The findings indicate that, under the premise of economic equivalence: Monetary promotions exhibit a higher inaction inertia effect on consumers than nonmonetary promotions. When consumers miss a more favorable promotion and subsequently encounter a relatively less attractive one presented in a different promotional format, the inaction inertia effect is lower than when reencountering the same promotion format. When consumers miss a better monetary promotion and presently encounter a relatively less attractive nonmonetary promotion, the inaction inertia effect is lower than when they miss a superior nonmonetary promotion and currently encounter a relatively less attractive monetary promotion.

This study reveals the sequence effects of promotional formats, indicating that nonmonetary promotions following monetary ones effectively reduce inaction inertia. A strategically sequenced set of formats enhances consumer recommendations, mitigating inaction inertia. These findings open new research paths, providing insights into the impact of promotional format sequences on the inaction inertia effect. Consequently, this knowledge helps e-retailers in implementing effective promotional strategies and driving online purchases.

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 compare the impact of different multi-unit promotions (MUPs) and a single-unit promotion (SUP) on store-level sales and consumer-level purchase probability and quantity decision.

The paper combines two empirical studies. Study 1 applies a hierarchical multiplicative model to store-level sales data for four product categories provided by a large Dutch retail chain. Study 2 presents a laboratory experiment in which the quantity requirements of the two focal MUP frames are manipulated to assess their impact on consumer purchase decisions.

The paper provides empirical evidence for the superiority of the “X for $Y” above “X + N free”, which confirms the hypotheses based on prospect theory, mental accounting and theory about gift-giving. Quantity requirements of four to five units show the largest effects. In addition, the superiority of the “X for $Y” frame holds for functional product categories, but not for the hedonic categories.

The paper provides managerial insights into the relative effectiveness of alternative MUPs and an SUP and how this promotional effectiveness depends on the type of product category and quantity requirements.

This paper combines actual sales data and experimental data. This “mixed approach” extends existing knowledge by comprehensively evaluating two MUP frames, namely, “X + N free” and “X for $Y” promotions, and an SUP.

This paper aims to propose models that capture the own effect of price promotions of virtue and vice products on sales and cross effects within the subcategory, between subcategories and between periods. The hypotheses assume that, due to reverse consumption self-control, the demand for vice products is more price-sensitive than demand for virtue products, but the demand for vice products is less price-sensitive between periods than demand for virtue products; furthermore, due to the degree of impulse-buying and to licensing, the demand sensitivity of the products of a subcategory and of those of other subcategories varies according to the type of promoted product (vice or virtue).

The methodology is based on different econometrical models that estimate the total net effect of price promotions of virtue and vice products on sales.

The results show a greater own effect for price promotions of vice products than for virtue products. However, the complementary sales effect between subcategories for virtue products facilitates greater expansion of the subcategory in virtue products than in vice products.

Although price promotions of virtue products (light) and vice products (regular) have proliferated in recent years, researchers have only estimated their own sales effect. Alternatively, the paper contributes by considering own and cross effects.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether consumers differ in their online or offline purchase intention, depending on which channel with price promotion information they are first exposed to, and to analyse the moderating role of brand trust.

Overall, 174 responses were obtained via an online survey using two contact channels (online/offline) by two levels of brand trust (high/low) between-subject designs.

Spillover effects were found across channels when a consistent price promotion is executed in both online and offline channels, purchase intentions for cross-channel and contact channel increase simultaneously. Although there was a similar effect in the discrepancy of purchase intentions towards the cross-channel according to contact channels, it varied depending on brand trust. When brand trust is high, having contact with offline price-discount information has a large online spillover effect. When brand trust is low, the spillover effect from online to offline is large.

This study expands the multi-channel research by proving the spillover effects between channels and confirming the difference according to brand trust.

Increasing promotion information for online contact is effective in driving offline visits for new brands, and the effective use of promotion information at offline stores can have a positive impact on online channels for well-known brands.

This study explores the cross-channel spillover effect of price promotion and proves that these effects depend on brand trust.

Firms can benefit from designing sales promotion based on the analysis of consumers' physical exercise and purchase data. This study aims to study mobile exercise app data to explore how purchasing a promoted or nonpromoted product affects exercisers’ subsequent exercise and purchase behaviors.

Drawing from the theoretical framework of overjustification effect, this study empirically examines the effects of the purchase of promoted – monetary and nonmonetary – or nonpromoted products on relationships (1) between past and subsequent exercise behaviors and (2) between past exercise and subsequent purchase behaviors. Novel data of one million exercise activities and purchase transactions created by 7,517 mobile exercise app users were collected.

The results reveal that monetary and nonmonetary promotions have a negative effect on overall consumers’ amount of physical exercise but increase heavy exercisers’ exercise amount. In addition, nonmonetary (monetary) promotion has a positive (negative) effect on consumers’ purchase expenditure but has no moderating effect on the exercise–expenditure relationship.

This study provides a theoretical framework explaining how to mitigate the dark side of sales promotions while targeting right exercise consumer segments with the right promotion campaigns.

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.

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.

We formulate static and dynamic empirical models of promotion where the current promotion probability depends on the hierarchical level in the firm, individual human capital, unobserved individual specific attributes, time-varying firm-specific variables, as well as endogenous past promotion histories (in the dynamic version). Within the static versions, we investigate the relative influence of the key determinants of promotions and how these influences vary by hierarchical levels. In the dynamic version of the model, we examine the causal effect of past speed of promotion on promotion outcomes. The model is fit on an eight-year panel of 30,000 American executives employed in more than 300 different firms. The stochastic process generating promotions may be viewed as a series of promotion probabilities which become smaller as an individual moves up in the hierarchy and which are primarily explained by unobserved heterogeneity and promotion opportunities. Firm variables and observed human capital variables (age, tenure, and education) play a surprisingly small role. We also find that, conditional on unobservables, the promotion probability is only enhanced by the speed of promotion achieved in the past (a structural fast track effect) for a subset of the population and is negative for the majority. In general, the magnitude of the individual-specific effect of past speed of promotion is inversely related to schooling, tenure, and hierarchical level.

The purpose of this study is to resolve inconsistencies in the literature about how one-time price promotions affect reference prices. Specifically, this study suggests that the measure of reference price used within a study (e.g. expected price or fair price) can affect the outcomes of that study.

This research uses three separate experiments, replicating and extending existing work, to simulate purchasing decisions for products in the context of a price promotion. Experiments allow careful control of the confounds presumed to cause the inconsistencies between studies.

Study 1 shows that measurement of different reference prices within the same experiment leads to carryover effects, which inflate the correlation between measures. Expected price and fair price appear to be conceptually and empirically distinct and should be measured separately to reduce design artifacts. Study 2 shows that one-time price promotions affect fair price, but not expected price, and Study 3 shows expected price and fair price converge after multiple promotions.

Independent measurement of reference price concepts allows robust claims about their distinctiveness. These findings have implications for how reference price should be measured in survey research and for pricing and promotional strategy.

This research contributes by showing how the measure of reference price used affects the outcomes of price promotion studies. It does this through the replication and extension of past research. Replication allows greater confidence in the findings of past research, and testing the same findings under different conditions allows for the boundaries of existing research to be delimited and generalizations to be made.