A Range Theory Account of Price Perception
Article Abstract:
It is well accepted in the behavioral pricing literature that a consumer's perception of the attractiveness of a market price depends on a comparison of the market price to an internal reference price. The rationale underlying this dynamic has its roots in Adaptation-Level Theory. However, consistent with Range Theory, we postulate that a consumer's assessment of the attractiveness of a market price may also depend on a comparison of the market price to the endpoints of the evoked price range. Four experiments provide evidence that variance in the width of the evoked price range affects price-attractiveness judgments in the absence of any variance in the internal reference price. Of theoretical importance, findings from the present article suggest that pricing theory is in need of augmentation in order to account for this effect. Of managerial relevance, these findings suggest that changes in context can bring about changes in the evoked price range and perceptions of the attractiveness of a market price.
Publication Name: Journal of Consumer Research
Subject: Social sciences
ISSN: 0093-5301
Year: 1999
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Communicating price information through semantic cues: the moderating effects of situation and discount size
Article Abstract:
While several studies have examined how the specific wording (i.e., semantic cue) used to communicate a price offer affects consumers' perceptions of value, this area of research has not produced a set of consistent findings. To resolve the apparent inconsistencies, the current article builds on past research and explains why a consumer's response to a semantic cue depends on the situation (or decision context) and the discount size. The results of two studies are reported. The first experiment provides evidence that the relative effectiveness of two widely used types of semantic cues depends on both consumers' decision context and the level of processing evoked by the discount size. The second experiment replicates the semantic cue by situation interaction and demonstrates the robustness of this effect across store familiarity. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
Publication Name: Journal of Consumer Research
Subject: Social sciences
ISSN: 0093-5301
Year: 1996
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Integration of serially sampled price information: modeling and some findings
Article Abstract:
Focusing on the perceived value of an observed basket of items as the dependent variable, the article suggests several rival models of integrating serially sampled price information. Within this context, perceptual implications of different discount structures are noted. Also, a computer-controlled laboratory experiment is reported that attempts to provide guidance for subsequent studies that may compare the suggested models. The results suggest that (1) store-profile effects persist after exposure to price information, (2)primacy effects are statistically significant but not strong, and (3) a large number of noticeable discounts lead to a higher perceived value than a small number of extreme discounts. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
Publication Name: Journal of Consumer Research
Subject: Social sciences
ISSN: 0093-5301
Year: 1986
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