New Evidence on Price and Product Quality

A variety of investigations have indicated that consumers subjectively perceive a positive relation between price and product quality. However it is also necessary to consider the objective analysis of actual price-quality relations which exist among competing products available for consumer choice. This investigation reviews findings from some subjective and objective evaluations of the price-quality relationship, followed by an objective analysis of price versus quality among 135 recently marketed groups of products in five product categories. Findings indicate that for 51 percent of the products a positive price-produce quality relation may be inferred, and dramatic differences in this relation are evident from one product category to another. Implications of these findings for the efficiency of consumer decision-making, the performance of consumer markets and future research on objective price-quality relations are discussed.     

Price-Quality Correlations in the Japanese Market

This study tested the consumer's rule of thumb, price indicates quality, in the Japanese market. The data source was the Monthly Consumers product testing magazine published by the Japanese Consumer Association. Spearman's rho correlations of price and quality ranged from +.87 to −.80, with a mean of −.06. The slightly negative, near zero mean correlation indicated that, on the average, price was a very poor indicator of quality. Among product categories, bicycles had the highest mean correlation, +.54; mean correlations for other product categories exhibited considerable variation. Comparisons of correlations within a product category, such as television sets or microwave ovens, revealed that a significant positive correlation at one point in time was not a reliable guide to the level of price-quality correlation for that product category at later points in time. Comparing results from this study with results from previous studies of Consumer Reports and Consumers Research reveals a smaller percentage of positive correlations and a lower mean correlation for the present study.     

Price and quality of durable goods: Are they more closely related in the seventies than in the sixties?

The objectives of this paper were to investigate price-quality relations for durable goods over an extended period of time and to determine if there had been any improvements in price-quality relations in recent years. Durable goods were selected since they are expensive, infrequently purchased items, and are hence more likely to stimulate the development of an expert buyer's market. The relation between price and product quality was measured using data fromConsumer Reports from 1970–1977. The results were compared to an earlier study by Morris and Bronson which usedConsumer Reports data from 1960–1967. A comparison of data for the two time periods showed an increase in the percentage of significant correlations but a decline in the median correlation coeffizient. On the whole, it was concluded that price-quality relations in the two time periods did not differ to any great extent. In addition, there was no significant improvment in price-quality relations from 1970–1977.     

On the interpretation of price-quality relations

While low price-quality correlations are commonly cited as evidence of markets which are in some way inefficient, we argue in this paper that price-quality correlations do not necessarily reflect the degree of efficiency of a market. We first define a measure of market efficiency as the aggregate amount which consumers lose due to not choosing the maximum utility brand. Given this measure, and a model of consumer search behavior, we demonstrate analytically that losses in a particular market depend on the distribution of prices and qualities, on the number of alternative brands, and on the level of search costs, as well as on the price-quality correlation. We construct several numerical examples which demonstrate that losses need not be closely related to price-quality correlations.     

Consumer perceptions of third party product quality ratings

Consumers increasingly rely on product quality information provided by third-party product ratings organizations. These organizations undertake the task of examining and testing competing products in the marketplace, establishing the level of quality associated with each product, and communicating this information to consumers. Despite the important role of product quality ratings in consumer decisions little research has been conducted to establish the factors which may influence consumer perceptions of these ratings. This paper examines the role of the information content provided by product quality ratings organizations on consumer perceptions. Furthermore, the influence of contextual variables, namely information cost, product category and advertising content, is examined. The results indicate that both content and context significantly influence consumer perceptions of source credibility and their intentions to use the product quality ratings in their purchase decisions.     

The Role of Price in Consumer Quality Judgments for Professional Services

Abstract

Classifying services according to their level of search, experience and credence properties can help professional service providers better understand their customers. This research uses an experiment to study the influence of price information on consumer judgments of service quality and patronage intentions for professional services. The conceptual framework predicts that consumers believe in a price-quality relationship for search-based services but not necessarily for professional services that are high in credence properties. The study findings provide support for this proposition and suggest that professional service providers should carefully consider how consumers view their services when using price as a promotion tool.     

Consumer heterogeneity in the longer-term effects of price promotions

While a significant literature has emerged recently on the longer-term effects of price promotions, as inferred from persistence models, there is very little if any attention paid to whether such longer-term effects vary across different types of consumers. This paper takes a first step in that direction by exploring whether the adjustment, permanent, and total effects of price promotions, and the duration of the adjustment period, differ between consumers segmented based on their usage rates in a product category and their loyalty to a brand. We also investigate whether such consumer segmentation will improve the forecasting performance of persistence models at both product category and brand levels. Expectations are developed based on consumer behavior theory on various effects of price promotions, such as the post-deal trough, the mere purchase effect, the promotion usage effect, and responsiveness to competitor's reactions. Evidence from household-level supermarket scanner data on four product categories is provided. We find substantial differences between consumer segments and provide insights on how managers can increase the longer-term effectiveness of price promotions by targeting each consumer segment with a different promotion program. In addition, consumer segmentation is found to significantly improve the forecasting performance of the persistence model for two of the four product categories. For the other two product categories, consumer segmentation provides forecasting performance similar to that obtained from aggregate-level persistence models.     

Product category determinants of price knowledge for durable consumer goods

Existing research in pricing has not extensively examined the impact of the product category on consumers’ knowledge of prices, especially for durable goods. In two empirical studies, this paper examines the influence of the product category on consumers’ knowledge of prices for durables. The first study utilizes data from the popular television game show The Price is Right to establish significant cross-category variations in price knowledge, while the second study links these variations to the specific characteristics of each product category. The results extend existing research findings by isolating the impact of product category determinants, such as purchase frequency, advertising exposure, and use of the price-quality cue, on consumers’ knowledge of prices.     

A tale of three cities: Large,medium, and small consumer markets compared

In what size consumer markets does the consumer fare best — those of large, medium-sized, or small cities/towns? This is the general question that this article seeks to answer through analysis of price-quality data pertaining to Minneapolis (a large city), Ann Arbor, MI, and Ithaca, NY (a small town). While differences were smaller than expected, limited evidence from this pilot study support the notion that small markets are most efficient. At the same time the analysis confirms others' findings that most consumer markets are chaotic.     

Behavioral response to price: Data-based insights and future research for retailing

An important area of pricing research is behavioral response to price. Researchers have studied topics such as the psychophysics of price (the relationship between stimulus and response), willingness-to-pay, the price-quality relationship, and other topics. In this paper, an integrated review, critical analysis, and synthesis of the extensive extant research in four critical areas of behavioral response to price are examined: reference price, latitude of price acceptance, asymmetric price response, and perception of fairness in pricing. As an integral part of the review and analysis, the theoretical underpinnings of these four concepts are presented. Retailing decisions and strategies are directly related to consumer behavioral response to pricing policies: managers want to know what the width of latitude of price acceptance might be, or if there is heterogeneity in the loss aversion effect, and what the moderators of this effect could be. Our review, analysis, and synthesis yield a rich set of data-based insights. For instance, the width of latitude of price acceptance is 1.5 times the price variability, and the width is larger below the reference price. Additionally, loss aversion is robust across businesses, as well as categories and methods of study, but the specific estimates of the effect range from a low of 1.31 to a high of 3.5. Where applicable, the antecedents and moderators of these insights are investigated, such as: loss aversion is moderated by product knowledge (with greater knowledge, the effect is more attenuated), and, in revenue management retail businesses such as hotels and restaurants, by familiarity of pricing practices (greater familiarity, lower loss aversion effect).     

Price and its Relation to Objective and Subjective Product Quality: Evidence from the Austrian Market

The correlation between price and product quality is usually found to be low, but still, consumers use a rule of thumb that higher prices indicate higher quality. In the present study, data from the Austrian consumer magazine Konsument from 2004 to 2007 were analysed, and price–quality correlations were computed. Results confirm former studies as the overall price–quality relation was positive and statistically significant but small (r = .30). It was especially small in the food and beverages sector as well as for cosmetics and for inexpensive products generally. Consumers' subjective beliefs about a price–quality link and product complexity were also analysed. Results show that consumers believe that a high price signals high quality, but that these beliefs are not well calibrated, i.e., not corresponding to the product categories where actually higher price–quality correlations can be found. In sum, the results confirm for the Austrian market that price is a poor signal of quality, and that consumers are hardly aware of the particular product sectors where this signal is more valid.     

房地产价格与消费的关系研究——基于财富效应的再检验

以房地产财富效应为分析依据,通过构建模型,分别以我国1991—2007年的年度数据和31个省（市、区）2000—2007年面板数据对我国房地产价格波动与消费关系进行实证检验,分析结果表明中国房地产价格对消费支出是负向抑制影响,而财富效应尚未显现,应不断完善和规范房地产市场,最大限度地降低房地产市场信息不对称程度。     

The Effect of Product Innovation,Promotion, and Price on Consumer Switching to Private Labels

The channel conflict that exists between retailers and manufacturers of branded products has dynamically shifted as large retailers have expanded their offerings of private label products. This study investigates the ability of consumer packaged goods companies to exert influence in the channel by testing which marketing initiatives implemented by manufacturer brands are more efficient in preventing consumer switching to private labels. We use a hazard model to simultaneously measure the effects due to product innovation, promotion, and price on consumer switching and how strong those effects are. We find that as expected product innovation, promotion, and price exert a negative effect on the consumer likelihood of switching to private labels. However, we find the strongest effect on promotion suggesting the importance of understanding how consumers perceive value in the national brands offer.     

The Local Consumer Information System: An Institution-To-Be?

This paper makes the case for the creation, testing and perfection of a new economic institution–a local consumer information system. The heart of the system would be a data bank to which the consumer could address questions and receive answers repeatedly regarding the local market. The purpose of the system would be to deliver relevant consumer information more efficiently. For the individual consumer this new institution would help identify his best buy variety of a product, quickly and at low cost. It would also tell him, again quickly and at low cost, from what local retailers and at what local prices this best buy variety might be purchased. This new institution would serve all consumers in a given community by lowering many prices, quality constant. By reproducing itself in different locales, as the product testing organizations have, it might be expected to multiply and serve consumers in many communities. The paper discusses the types of information to be provided, methods of information collection and dissemination, means of insuring accuracy and fairness and how it might be financed.     

Beyond radical affordability in the base of the pyramid: The role of consumer self-confidence in product acceptance

When developing products and services for base of the economic pyramid (BoP) consumers, it has been widely assumed that organizations must set extremely low prices that are dependent on substantial product acceptance and economies of scale. However, such pricing is often not feasible. Growing evidence suggests that more moderate price levels are needed for organizations to viably serve the needs of low-income consumers. However, price sensitivity is less understood in low-income contexts. To promote the success of social enterprises through fresh insight, we reexamine the extremely low-price BoP assumption by investigating product acceptance among low-income consumers using two experiments in Latin America. Results reveal that a belief in one's capabilities to make effective consumption decisions, consumer self-confidence, helps explain the acceptance of moderately-priced products. Discussion highlights directions for stimulating acceptance of socially beneficial products in low-income contexts.     

The influence of supermarket attributes on perceived customer satisfaction: an East Asian study

Despite the proliferation of theoretical developments in the area of western consumer behaviour, to date the likelihood of Asian variants to existing consumer behavioural models has not been explored in any detail. Based on prior research in the field of retail attribute testing this empirical study investigates the influence of supermarket store attributes on Chinese (Macau) customer satisfaction moderated by the biographical factors of age and income. The results indicate that the store attributes of distance and speed of check out were significant for age, and that delivery service and price reductions were significant by income. Total independent variable rankings indicated store location, price and product variety were perceived by Chinese respondents as being the most important store attributes influencing satisfaction.     

Perceived situational effects on price sensitivity

In this article, the multidimensionality of price as perceived by members of a consumer panel is examined. Respondents are first classified as price-sensitive or non-price-sensitive with respect to a durable and a nondurable product. Several dimensions of price are then described within the framework of brand purchase decision situations, and consumer evaluations of the importance of each situational dimension are measured. Dimensions perceived as important by price-sensitive persons are different from those considered important by non-price-sensitive consumers. Variations exist in the importance of price dimensions based on type of product.     

Price-aware enhanced dynamic recommendation based on deep learning

Price is one of the essential elements influencing consumer purchase behavior. Like consumers’ preferences in products, their price preferences also dynamically change over time. However, dynamic price preferences haven’t been fully considered in existed recommendation studies. In this study, we propose a deep learning-based dynamic recommendation model by considering consumers’ dynamic preferences in both product and price. We specially design a review-and-rating-based sequence generator to select products whose prices the consumers are satisfied with to form the new purchase sequence. We also develop a multi-level attention mechanism in the transformer layer to explore the correlations between consumers’ price choices and to combine the price preferences with the product preferences. Experimental results show the proposed model outperforms the state-of-the-art models on some real-world datasets. Our findings can help retailers understand consumers’ price preferences and make informed decisions related to pricing, discounting, and bundle sales strategies.     

Acceptance of New Food Products: Reference Prices and Psychological Moderators of Heterogeneous Price Effects

This paper emphasizes a consumer-centered perspective to understand new food product success. It pursues two central objectives by showing that consumers are more likely to interpret new product prices as offering gains or losses depending on their individual purchase histories, and consumer psychographics are demonstrated to affect new product adoption directly, and/or moderate effects of prices and promotions as well as quality signalling product attributes. Several hypotheses are generated based on explanations of underlying psychological mechanisms. For data analysis a cross-classified random effects model is applied to household panel data on yoghurt and sausages that includes four crossed random factors. The findings confirm that inclusion of consumer-specific price information is beneficial for understanding new food products’ adoption behavior. Monetary losses as well as gains negatively affect adoption. Purchase habits also hinder adoption while consumer innovativeness is an important driver. Price consciousness and purchase habits moderate price and promotion effects. While price consciousness reinforces negative effects of prices and positive effects of promotions, habits hinder positive effects of promotions. This implies that introductory promotions are an inappropriate strategy for attracting habitual consumers, and managers should identify appropriate target groups in order to improve the efficiency of introductory promotions.     

Profiling consumers in home ware stores according to their decision‐making process: an exploratory study

Despite the growing interest of South African consumers regarding home ware, insufficient research is available regarding their decision making of this product category. The objectives of this exploratory study were to evaluate consumers' decision‐making process regarding home ware, and to suggest consumer profiles of the home ware based on the decision‐making process. A qualitative research strategy was used to purposively recruit both male and female participants walking around a home ware store. Semi‐structured interviews were used to collect data from 33 participants at which point data saturation was reached. Each step of the decision‐making process was investigated during the interviews, using questions relevant to the purchasing of home ware. The results indicated clear differences as well as similarities in home ware consumers' decision‐making process. It was evident that the decision‐making process was a result of their specific need for a home ware product. Consumers evaluated home ware based on their needs, values and personal style, while making their final product choice based on product quality, appearance and price. It was also possible to identify home ware consumer profiles based on an evaluation of their decision‐making process. Four profiles were identified, namely, the quality‐conscious, the fashion‐conscious, the lifestyle‐orientated and the impulsive home ware consumer. The characteristics associated with each profile should provide the growing home ware market with insight regarding the specific needs and preferences of the consumer. Seeing that this study was only exploratory in nature, it is recommended that further research regarding the purchasing of home ware should be done.