The influence of multi-channel pricing strategy on price fairness and customer confusion

ABSTRACT

Multi-channel retailers face the challenge of coordinating marketing variables across their channels. In this respect, one of the main issues arising is whether to differentiate or integrate prices. Our study examines the impact of three multi-channel price differentiation instruments on perceived price fairness, customer confusion, and their consequences. In a scenario-based online experiment, we use a 2 x 2 × 2 between-subjects design and manipulate product price differentiation, online promotion and online shipping fees. The results indicate that price differentiation has an impact on fairness evaluations and customer confusion. Product price differentiation and online promotion are perceived as more unfair and lead to more confusion than price parity. Price fairness perceptions of shipping fees depend on product price differentiation. Customers perceive shipping fees as fairer than no shipping fees when prices are cheaper online but perceive shipping fees as less fair when prices are integrated. These results suggest that customers expect a consistent consideration of channel cost advantages and disadvantages and that shipping fees might serve as a cue for customers to consider the retailer’s channel costs. We further show that price fairness and customer confusion mediate effects of pricing instruments (in particular online promotion) on attitudinal and behavioral consequences.     

The effects of a “no-haggle” channel on marketing strategies

As sellers increasingly turn to multi-channel retailing, the opportunity to implement different pricing policies has grown. With the advent of the internet, many traditionally bargained products such as automobiles, jewelry, watches, appliances and furniture are now being offered online at a fixed pre-determined price. We explore the strategy of simultaneously offering two pricing formats (fixed and bargained) via two different channels (online and brick and mortar) and find that in a market where there are two types of consumers—those with a high cost of haggling and others with a lower cost—a dual-pricing strategy is optimal only when there are enough high haggling-cost consumers, but not too many, and when the haggling costs between the two types of consumers are sufficiently different. We also find that it is optimal for the seller to specify a higher-than-cost minimum acceptable price as the price floor of bargaining. By doing so, the seller increases the bargained price by complementing the salesperson's bargaining ability, and also softens the internal competition between the two channels. Finally, we find that, surprisingly, the dual-pricing strategy may serve fewer customers while still being more profitable than a single price structure. The implications for consumer surplus are also explored.     

“同品不同价”:价值感知与定价差异——基于当当网自营与入驻商家的比较

平台经济发展日益加剧网络零售市场竞争和价格离散,商家间同商品定价差异背后的理论逻辑亟待厘清。由于消费者对商品各价值特征存在差异偏好,从而产生不同程度的溢价意愿。研究表明:商家在质量、服务、评论反馈方面所代表的价值感知差异对不同商家商品定价差异的传导机制有显著影响。其中,商家间的服务体验价值差异对网络商品定价的提升影响效用明显,评论反馈所代表的信息价值在初次购买后的影响力减弱。面对价格分档,市场上价格敏感者更看重功能价值,追求物美价廉;中高价位商品的消费者更注重增值服务的体验价值感知。互联网零售商要有针对性地制定相关价值感知提升策略;相关管理部门要防范"感知过度"式哄抬物价以维护市场竞争秩序。     

Online and offline retailing: What we know and directions for future research

The fast-paced growth of e-commerce is rapidly changing consumers’ shopping habits and shaping the future of the retail industry. While online retailing has allowed companies to overcome geographic barriers to selling and helped them achieve operational efficiencies, offline retailers have struggled to compete with online retailers, and many retailers have chosen to operate both online and offline. This paper presents a review of the literature on the interaction between e-commerce and offline retailing, highlighting empirical findings and generalizable insights, and discussing their managerial implications. Our review includes studies published in more than 50 different academic journals spanning various disciplines from the inception of the internet to present. We organize our paper around three main research questions. First, what is the relationship between online and offline retail channels including competition and complementarity between online and offline sellers as well as online and offline channels of an omnichannel retailer? Under this question we also try to understand the impact of e-commerce on market structure and what factors impact the intensity of competition /complementarity. Second, what is the impact of e-commerce on consumer behavior? We specifically investigate how e-commerce has impacted consumer search, its implications for price dispersion, and user generated content. Third, how has e-commerce impacted retailers’ key managerial decisions? The key research questions under this heading include: (i) What is the impact of big data on retailing? (ii) What is the impact of digitization on retailer outcomes? (iii) What is the impact of e-commerce on sales concentration? (iv) What is the impact of e-commerce and platforms on pricing? And (v) How should retailers manage product returns across online and offline channels? Under each section, we also develop detailed recommendations for future research which we hope will inspire continued interest in this domain.     

消费行为与企业战略的融合——不同零售业态的价格定位及其市场细分战略

现代零售业态发展趋于多元化,零售企业针对不同消费者的价格敏感程度来定位零售商品的价格,从而选择不同的销售渠道即经营业态,通过不同产品线的组合来满足不同层次消费者的需求。以此来体现企业的市场细分战略,形成顾客忠诚,实现其经济效益的最大化。     

Why is Price Dispersion Higher Online than Offline? The Impact of Retailer Type and Shopping Risk on Price Dispersion

When physically similar products, of similar quality, are offered by retailers both online and offline, we often observe that the dispersion in prices of these products online is greater than the price dispersion offline. This observation runs counter to early theories that suggested price dispersion online would be smaller than that offline due to the ease of search and information availability online. This paper investigates and provides an explanation for this puzzling phenomenon by examining the impact of two important drivers of price dispersion: retailer type and consumers’ shopping risk. Retailer type refers to whether a retailer is a pure offline, pure online, or dual channel retailer. Shopping risk is defined as the product of consumers’ perceived risk of shopping and the transaction uncertainty related to shopping at different types of retailers.A game-theoretic approach is adopted to model consumers’ price search and product purchase, as well as price competition within and across retailer types in online and offline markets. Equilibrium pricing strategies are derived for different retailer types competing for different consumer segments with different levels of perceived shopping risk. The impact of retailer type and shopping risk on online versus offline price dispersion are quantified, and conditions when price dispersion is greater online than offline are identified.Results indicate that price dispersion is greater online when the number of pure online retailers is sufficiently large and is increasing in the number of pure online retailers. In addition, a reduction in online shopping risk may actually increase online price dispersion. Results further suggest that even without any online sales, dual channel retailers should maintain their online presence for the purpose of information dissemination, which justifies the importance for pure offline retailer to incorporate webrooming strategies, where consumers can search for prices online but purchase offline.     

The effect of time-varying factors on promotional activity in the German milk market

Promotional sales are an essential pricing tool in the marketing mix of food retailers, which induced numerous studies on the topic. However, few studies have considered time-varying factors of promotional activity in retailing. This study analyzes the effect of time-varying factors on promotional activity in German food retailing using an extensive scanner data set of weekly milk prices. I used a zero-truncated negative binomial model to estimate the time that elapsed between promotional sales. The study shows that promotional activity is high in times of peak demand, when recent unit sales are low, and when the regular price has recently been changed. The results provide compelling evidence that time-varying factors influence the retailer's pricing behavior.     

Consumer willingness to pay across retail channels

Published research examining differences in consumer willingness to pay for products at omnichannel and pure-play online retailers is based on non-durable, search products and is equivocal; prices at pure-play online retailers are not always lower. This research examines differences in consumer willingness to pay for online purchases of functional and expressive products that differ in the length of product life, i.e. durable and nondurables at omnichannel versus pure play online retailers. Empirical analysis of consumer-centric, multi-site clickstream data of prices paid show that consumers are willing to pay higher prices for home goods products at omnichannel retailers compared to pure-play online retailers but differ for functional and expressive products. Implications are drawn to assist both omnichannel and PPO retailers in their pricing strategies.     

Consequences of personalized product recommendations and price promotions in online grocery shopping

Shopping convenience can be turned into a competitive advantage for online grocery retailers. Consequently, we study how personalized product recommendations (recommendation agents) and price promotions (algorithmic pricing) compensate for the negative impact that consumer's perceived cognitive effort causes on loyalty. By default, the relationship from perceived cognitive efforts to attitudinal and behavioral loyalty is negative, yet these results demonstrate that personalized price promotions lessen the negative impact, while personalized product recommendations do not have such an influence. The findings contribute to a better understanding of personalized marketing activities in today's data-driven online grocery retailing.     

Segmenting consumer decision-making styles (CDMS) toward marketing practice: A partial least squares (PLS) path modeling approach

The way consumers make decisions across online and offline channels according to their perceptions of retailers׳ marketing practices is not well understood in the current literature. A few empirical studies have examined consumer decision-making styles (CDMS) and marketing practice among online and shopping mall consumers. This research endeavors to understand CDMS as market segments on the perception of marketing practice across retail channels. A total of 315 online and paper–pencil-questionnaires were collected to conduct the statistical analysis for the measurement and structural model using the partial least squares (PLS) path modeling approach, a structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. Six consumers׳ characteristics–perfectionist, brand consciousness, price conscious, fashion conscious, recreational and impulsive shoppers–were assessed in respect of retail products, price, advertising and retailing across-channels. The study contributes to retailing management by enabling it to implement effective retail segmentation and cross-channel strategy according to CDMS. The study limitations and implications are discussed.     

The ‘online high street’ or the high street online? The implications for the urban retail hierarchy

The U.K. has the greatest proportion of online sales in Europe. This study seeks to explore the differential effects of online retailing on the (evolving) hierarchy of shopping centres by examining current trends and underlying forces. The overall objectives of the paper are to qualify and explore the influence of online retailing in the decision-making processes of leading retailers today; and to assess how virtual influences become manifest in the tangible built environment and have impacted the retail hierarchy? It differentiates online retail trends by sector and retailer size, and examines the consequences for different types of shopping centres. The empirical research is based on the changing location of stores of a major fashion retailer and interviews with three of Britain’s leading retailers that have seen the more substantial increase in online turnover in recent years. Major retailers are found to have integrated online offerings, such as click and collect, into a ‘multi-channel’ retailing approach. Online retailing has therefore become an inherent and central element within large retailers’ business and therefore real estate strategies, with considerations such as online marketplace penetration and possible ‘cannibalisation’ coming to the fore in decision-making about store location. Online retail sales are, to a degree, drawing sales away from shopping centres but its impact on the existing shopping hierarchy is largely to reinforce established long-term trends driven by the motor age and the shift to out of town retailing. This is symbolised by the largest ‘high street’ fashion retailer now having more branches in retail parks than town centres. Out of town shopping centres for example are benefitting because of the ease of goods collection offered by these locations.     

Currency Substitution and Price Endings: Right Digit Effect

ABSTRACT

The strategic manipulation of prices. rightmost digits has been a tactic used by retailers in the western world for decades. By studying the internationalization of pricing tactics in a global economy, our research adds a much needed contribution to the literature of price endings and pricing tactics in global markets. We find that at lower price levels, consumers exposed to a 99 ending price in a currency substitution market are more likely to purchase the product compared to consumers in the US market. At higher price levels, on the other hand, consumers in either market situation exhibit no change in purchase intentions. Thus, the 99 ending tactic has no effect on consumers when the product is expensive. The use of the right digit effect by managers in a currency substitution/ dollarized economy as a way of persuading consumers to buy is still likely to be more successful compared to the USA market. As such, firms in a dollarized economy should structure their pricing strategies while taking into consideration the type of product they are offering and the consumer market they are dealing with.     

Consumer responses to offline and online low price signals: The role of cognitive elaboration

Low price signals (LPS), pricing tools where retailers promise to match or beat competitors' prices, have been increasingly popular in offline and online markets. We compare consumer evaluation of offline and online LPS as a function of how deeply they process the signals. Results of an experiment indicate that regardless of retail media consumers accept an LPS as an indicator of low price when they do not elaborate sufficiently on the signal. However, at high levels of elaboration, consumers challenge the assumptions underlying their acceptance of the signal at lower levels of elaboration whereby they become more skeptical of an online signal than an offline signal resulting in lower efficacy of the former. Implications of these findings for consumer vulnerability to false low price signaling are discussed along with other theoretical and managerial implications. Additionally, directions for future research are provided.     

Is the system reliability profitable for retailing and consumer service of a dynamical system under cross-price elasticity of demand?

Retailing strategy is one of the most crucial factors for industries. A proper retailing strategy can help to enhance consumer service and increase the industry's profit. An improved approach to retailing is suggested in this research to deliver superior customer service while maximizing profits in a dynamic system. The study analyzes a retailing strategy for a demand with cross-price elasticity upon the retail price. A product's cross-price elasticity and the system reliability are critical factors in retailing. Understanding the cross-price elasticity of demand between products helps retailers to make pricing decisions that maximize profits by maintaining demand. Imperfect products are produced due to an imperfect production system. The imperfect ones must be adjusted with some costs to make them perfect for better retailing. The system failure rate is crucial for retailing under cross-price elasticity of demand patterns. Production system reliability, cross-price elasticity of demand, and consumer service are all essential factors that can impact a company's success in the market. The production rate is considered time- and system failure rate-dependent. Contradictory to the literature, a dynamical system is proposed for improved retail management, which is solved using the Euler-Lagrange theory. Finally, one can achieve the expected maximum profit for this retail system with optimum selling prices for different products by reducing the system failure rate. Some numerical illustrations with graphical representations are provided to validate the current study. Numerical examples show that applying cross-price elasticity of demand for more than two identical products provides 35% more profit for the retail industry than a single type of product.     

Price Variations for Refrigerators Among Retail Store Types and Cities

This study investigated differences in prices of refrigerators among 5 different types of retailers in 11 different major U.S. cities. Significant differences in price among retailers were found with appliance stores and furniture stores offering the lowest prices. Discount department stores quoted lower prices than did conventional department stores. Some cities had lower average prices than others. There were considerable variations in price among all classes of retailers and among all cities. Dealers that serviced appliances quoted prices similar to those quoted by dealers that did not service appliances. Prices did not vary by the size of the store.     

Price,online coupon,and store service effort decisions under different omnichannel retailing models

This paper explores three omnichannel retailing models—that is, a Buy-Online, Pick-Up In-Store (BOPS) model, a Showroom model, and an Interactive model (a model that combines the characteristics of BOPS and Showroom)—under which the retailer offers coupons online and invests in service efforts offline. For each omnichannel retailing model, three coupon distribution scenarios (i.e. no coupon, coupon with a common value, and coupon with a different value) are discussed to investigate coupon promotion policies and omnichannel operation strategies. Profits in the omnichannel system and under each model are compared by deriving three decision values: price, coupon value, and service effort. The key findings show that the retailer achieves profit improvement when the incremental purchasing reaches a large value. In addition, a great service effort coefficient leads to a high price, service effort, and retailer profit. The service effort and coupon value in the Showroom model are the largest among the three omnichannel models, while its profit is the lowest. Conversely, although the retailer invests less in service effort, and the price and coupon value are not too large in the BOPS model, the retailer still gains the highest profit. Additionally, in the BOPS model, it is profitable for the retailer to distinguish the coupon value for the online-only and BOPS channels when consumers are less sensitive to the online-only channel’s coupon. However, in the Interactive model, the retailer derives increasing profit by providing coupons with a common value for the online-only and BOPS channels.     

通道费与大型零售商盈利模式研究:基于双边市场的视角

文章基于产业组织研究领域新兴的双边市场理论,分析在零售商主导的市场环境下消费者、零售商、制造商三者的利益关系,理论上证明了大型零售商已经演变为双边市场中的交易平台。在此基础上,构建主导零售商定价策略模型研究通道费的各种影响因素,并针对我国零售市场特点,提出了对通道费进行规制的相关原则。研究结果表明：通道费是大型零售商为平衡制造商与消费者利益,将外部性内部化的重要机制,具有一定的合理性。     

Multi-Channels: The Real Winners in the B2C Internet Wars

This article presents evidence that multi-channel retailers are out-performing online-only ("pure-play") retailers, and that their success is reflected in their market value. Multi-channel retailers are most successful when they define distinct roles for each channel, use the Web creatively as a customer acquisition tool, and work hard at converting browsers to buyers. To help get this last part right, the authors isolate key defection points – critical moments when retailers are apt to lose customers. They conclude that, for retailers, the key to making the most of the Internet is to correctly determine its strategic role in relation to other channels and invest to play that role excellently.     

Compete in Price or Service?—A Study of Personalized Pricing and Money Back Guarantees

Retailers use both pricing and service strategies to respond to intensified competition. Here we develop a duopoly model to investigate the impact of the increasingly popular personalized pricing strategy (PPS) and the widely used Money Back Guarantee (MBG) customer returns policy. We consider two retailers who differ in customer satisfaction rates. Each retailer chooses a pricing strategy, PPS or uniform pricing, and a product return strategy, MBG or ‘no returns.’ We show that both PPS and MBG are dominant strategies, but their impact on retailers’ prices and profits are different; while PPS intensifies price competition and may lead to a prisoner’s dilemma in which both retailers may lose profit, MBG mitigates price competition and may result in a Pareto improvement in both retailers’ profits. Both PPS and MBG increase the size of the overall market, but not the total duopoly profit. The total customer surplus and social welfare may increase under either strategy. In addition, we obtain some interesting observations as to how our results may change if the product quality/customer satisfaction rate is endogenously chosen in the duopoly. Some of our findings are in contrast to related results reported in the literature.     

Performance Implications of Online Entry Timing by Store-Based Retailers: A Longitudinal Investigation

This paper utilizes Time Series Cross-Sectional (TSCS) Regression techniques to investigate long-term performance effects of the timing of online sales adoption by incumbent bricks-and-mortar retailers. Its findings support the resource-based theory of competitive advantage by showing that firm-specific resource endowments (bricks-and-mortar experience, catalog experience and firm size) determine the success of the order of online entry strategy. The study contributes to the development of strategic theory in the areas of multi-channel retailing and electronic commerce and assists managers in formulating more informed strategic objectives for achieving multi-channel competitive advantage.