The Effects of Price Salience on Consumer Perception and Purchase Intentions

Abstract Previous studies have shown that retail price promotion change consumers' purchase behavior and that retailers use price promotion more frequently. Keeping constant the benefits received by consumers, there are several ways for retailers to communicate a price promotion. For example, retailers can present a price reduction in absolute terms ($, €), percentage terms (%), or some combinations of these two methods (Delia Bitta et al. 1981). Communicating a price promotion in different ways is similar to the framing of purchase decisions (Monroe 1990). Framing effects refers to the finding that subjects respond differently to different descriptions of the same decision question (Frisch 1993). Thus, the presentation of the promotion has an impact on consumer deal evaluation and hence retail sales. In fact, much research in marketing attests to the effects of price presentation on deal perception (Lichtenstein and Bearden 1989; Urbany et al. 1988; Yadav and Monroe 1993). In this sense, a number of marketing researches have argued that deal perceptions are also determined by the degree to which consumers are able to calculate the discounts and final purchase prices accurately (Estelami 2003a; Morwitz et al. 1998), which suggests that marketers may be able to enhance responses to discounts by improving calculation accuracy. Consequently, since calculation inaccuracies in the aggregate lead to the underestimation of discounts (Kim and Kramer 2006), consumers are more likely to appreciate a discounted offer following deeper processing of price information that enables them to evaluate a price discount more accurately. The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of different presentations of discount prices on consumer price perceptions. To be more precise, the purpose of this study is to investigate how different implementations of the same price promotion (semantic and visual salience) affect consumers' perceptions of the promotion and their purchase decisions. Specifically, the analysis will focus on the effect of price presentation on evaluation, purchase intentions and perception of savings. In order to verify the hypotheses proposed in the research, this paper will present an experimental analysis dealing with several discount presentations. In this sense, a 2 (Numerical salience presentation: absolute and relative) × 2 (Worded salience presentation: novel and traditional) × 2 (Visual salience: red and blue) design was employed to investigate the effects of discount presentation on three dependent variables: evaluation, purchase intentions and perception of savings. Respondents were exposed to a hypothetical advertisement that they had to evaluate and were informed of the offer conditions. Once the sample finished evaluating the advertisement, they answered a questionnaire related to price salience and dependent dimensions. Then, manipulation checks were conducted to ensure that respondents remembered their treatment conditions. Next, a 2×2×2 MANOVA and follow-up univariate tests were conducted to verify the research hypotheses suggested and to examine the effects of the individual factors (price salience) on evaluation, purchase intentions and perceived savings. The results of this research show that semantic and visual salience presentations have significant main effects and interactions on evaluation, purchase intentions and perception of savings. Significant numerical salience interactions affected evaluation and purchase intentions. Additionally, a significant worded salience main effect on perception of savings and interactions on evaluation and purchase intentions were found. Finally, visual salience interactions have significant effects on evaluation. The main findings of this research suggest practical implications that firms should consider when planning promotion-based discounts to attract consumer attention. Consequently, because price presentation has important effects on consumer perception, retailers should consider which effect is wanted in order to design an effective discount presentation. Specifically, retailers should present discounts with a traditional style that facilitates final price calculation. It is thus important to investigate ways in which marketers can enhance the accuracy of consumers' mental arithmetic to improve responses to price discounts. This preliminary study on the effect of price presentation on consumer perception and purchase intentions opens the line of research for further research. The results obtained in this research may have been determined by a number of limiting conceptual and methodological factors. In this sense, the research deals with a variety of discount presentations as well as with their effects; however, the analysis could include additional salience dimensions and effects on consumers. Furthermore, a similar study could be carried out including a larger, more inclusive and heterogeneous sample of consumers. In addition, the experiment did not require sample individuals to actually buy the product, so it is advisable to compare the effects obtained in the research with real consumer behavior and perception