THE FREQUENCY OF QUANTITY SURCHARGES: REPLICATION AND EXTENSION

Widrick's research has established that larger sizes of grocery products are not always less expensive per unit than smaller sizes, or that quantity surcharges exist. The purpose of this research was to validate and extend Widrick's work. In this research, the overall incidence of quantity surcharges was 18.6%. Surcharges were found to occur more often when numerous brand sizes were offered and non-integer package size comparisons were required. Additionally, personal care products, not previously included in quantity surcharge research, were found to have a lower incidence of surcharges than food and laundry products. The research indicates there may be possible payoffs to consumers who make unit price comparisons rather than employing the economy size rule.     

How Can Internet Comparison Sites Work Optimally for Consumers?

In today's information society, there is such a large amount of available information about any given good or service that consumers are unable to make an informed choice. Internet comparison sites (ICSs) could provide a solution to this problem by comparing markets for consumers and making a comprehensive recommendation. However, currently, they are not fully effective for consumers. Consumers do not trust ICSs because of concerns about commission biases and lack of full market coverage. To be fully effective, ICSs also ought to cover non-price dimensions such as product quality and after-sales service. Changing the economic model from the current two-sided platform to a one-sided platform could solve these problems. In order for this to occur, changes or clarifications to existing EU consumer laws might need to be made.     

Quantity Surcharges: Are They Important in Choosing a Shopping Strategy?

Instead of making value-price comparisons for all members of a product set, consumers may decide to adopt simple purchase decision rules such as larger sizes are better buys. When the unit price of a larger size is greater than the unit price of a smaller size, a quantity surcharge exists. Previous research has established that consumers do frequently encounter quantity surcharges in purchasing grocery products. However, estimates of the amount of the surcharge, the goal of this research, have not previously been reported. In this study the expected return from using the larger-size rule was estimated. The estimation procedure made use of price and size information gathered for all available packages of 23 products sold in 15 grocery stores in one rural Illinois community in October 1981. Nineteen of the 23 grocery products were found to have surcharges, with the mean amount ranging from less than one cent to 65 cents. Tuna fish was the only product for which the expected value of the return from buying a larger size rather than a smaller size was negative. Implications for consumers' choice of shopping strategies are discussed.     

Quantity of Information and Information Display Type as Predictors of Consumer Choice of Product Brands

Research has shown that consumers like large quantities of product information and believe that it helps them to make better purchase decisions. In light of this finding, it is quite possible that consumers might make brand choice decisions based on the amount of information provided. In cases where brands differ in amount of information, consumers may choose those brands that provide the most information. This article reports the results of exploratory research designed to examine this question as well as the effects of two information display types on brand choice in situations of varying information quantity. The findings revealed evidence to support the hypothesized consumer preference for high-information brands over low-information brands. The magnitude of the effect was also found to differ by type of information display.     

How Hand Proximity Impacts Consumer Responses to a Persuasive Communication

This research examines the impact of hand proximity (i.e., proximal or distal) on how consumers process the information contained in an advertisement or on a product Web site. Four studies demonstrate that when hands are proximal to that information (e.g., when using a mobile device to view the information), there is more detail‐oriented processing that results in greater attribute recall and a greater amount of attribute‐related thoughts. When hands are distal to that information (e.g., when using a desktop to view the ad or product Web site), there is more holistic, conceptually oriented processing that results in greater thematic recall and more thoughts about the theme. This research also demonstrates that hand proximity can differentially impact choice and product evaluations. Specifically, when hands are proximal consumers prefer ads communicating detailed product information; when hands are distal consumers prefer ads that focus on a theme. Hand proximity effects are driven by the innate tendency to manipulate or inspect an item. The research has important practical implications, given the ubiquity of both hand‐held devices and computers.     

Finding the self in chance events

This research shows that consumers who encounter products through low chance events rather than predictable events develop greater liking for those products. A series of six studies demonstrate that consumers search for meaning when these unexpected events occur, leading to stronger self–product connection and more positive product evaluations. Consistent with our conceptualization, this effect is moderated by factors that influence perceptions of meaning and self–product connection. Specifically, the effect is attenuated when consumers encounter products that have strong inherent meaning (self-consistent product), and when they believe that meaning is not important or that life's random events do not need to make sense. This study is the first to reveal the hidden factors that lead people to associate products encountered in low chance events with the self. The current work provides valuable insights as to how situaitonal factors can alter self-product connection, and consequently influence consumers' product experiences.     

Consumer Decision Making Regarding a “Green” Everyday Product

One of the techniques marketers use to convert low‐involvement products into high‐involvement ones is adding an important product feature. A case in point is the common practice of adding a “green” or environmentally friendly product feature to an everyday product, something which is often assumed to elevate consumer involvement in the choice of the product. However, there is a lack of research investigating whether adding such a “green” product attribute actually makes any difference to how consumers make choices. Does the way in which consumers make decisions about groceries change when both “green” and conventional alternatives are available? Does it make them deliberate more or do they just develop another, simple choice heuristic? Based on observation and follow‐up interviews of consumers at the milk counter in two supermarkets which stock both organic (a “green” attribute) and conventional milk, it is concluded that, rather than changing the way consumers make decisions when buying this type of product, the availability of a “green” alternative seems to make “green” consumers develop a new, simple choice heuristic that allows them to do their shopping as effortless and time‐efficient as consumers buying conventional products.     

Dark is durable,light is user-friendly: The impact of color lightness on two product attribute judgments

Visual design elements such as color do not only provide aesthetic appeal; they also convey information that consumers rely on when making unrelated product attribute judgments. Seven experiments reveal that consumers assess darker-colored products to be more durable but less user-friendly than lighter-colored ones. Both outcomes are linked to the influence of color lightness on perceived weight, but the latter outcome appears to be more easily disrupted than the former one. Specifically, the impact of color lightness on user-friendliness assessments, but not on durability assessments, is eliminated when the role of weight is unclear or when cognitive load is induced. However, consumers make greater downward adjustments in their durability assessments after physically handling a product with darker (vs. lighter) color. These findings highlight some of the potential complexities and nuances in consumer responses to color.     

The Effect of Nutrition Information on Brand Rating: Test for a Non-Use Benefit

Although consumers tend to express positive attitudes toward nutrition labeling when questioned directly, research indicates that most people do not use the information to help them make purchase decisions. While direct usage rates may be low, there may, however, be non-use benefits associated with the information. This article describes the findings from a laboratory experiment which employed an indirect and highly structured research method to study an important non-use benefit. The results indicate that consumers have more favorable attitudes toward food products which supply more information on the label.     

Global product stereotypes and heuristic processing: The impact of ambient task complexity

This study examines consumer information processing heuristics in the context of ambient task complexity. Individual consumers are often called upon to make evaluations of product and advertising stimuli while ambient events not directly related to the purchase at hand may enter the evaluative process and influence the way evaluations are made. Subjects facing a more complex task due to ambient events were found to evaluate the target stimulus in a way that was more consistent with category‐based rather than piecemeal processing. Additionally, the findings provide considerable evidence for stereotype‐driven evaluations and processing of attribute information. The theoretical and practical implications of this research are discussed. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The Effect of Stylistic Product Information on Consumers’ Aesthetic Responses

This paper investigates the effect of stylistic information about a product, defined as verbal product information aimed at helping consumers to interpret a product's visual design, on consumers’ aesthetic responses. The results of three experimental studies show that for consumers with higher centrality of visual product aesthetics (CVPA), stylistic information positively influences aesthetic responses through perceived meaningfulness of product design (i.e., the extent to which an individual is able to make sense of a product's visual appearance and understands what it represents). Further, these effects translate into consumers’ purchase intentions. For consumers with lower CVPA, stylistic information neither affects aesthetic responses nor perceived meaningfulness of product design. These findings contribute to existing research on consumers’ aesthetic processing by highlighting the importance for consumers to grasp a product's design meaning in order to maximally appreciate its visual appeal.     

Consumers' willingness to buy products with environmental and ethical claims: the roles of social representations and social identity

This study investigates how social representations and consumers' identification with organic food consumers affects intentions to buy products that make environmental and ethical claims. For the purposes of the study, an online panel study was conducted on a representative sample of consumers (n = 1006) in the United Kingdom. The results demonstrate that consumers who are adherent to natural foods or technology and do not perceive food as a necessity are more willing to buy environmentally friendly and ethical products. There seems to be no relationship between perceptions of food as a source of enjoyment and intentions to buy sustainable products. Finally, social identification with the organic consumer is positively related with the intentions to buy products that make environmental and ethical claims. The current research demonstrates that both individual perceptions of food and consumers' perceptions of the social environment play an important role in promoting environmentally friendly and ethical behaviour.     

Explaining the joint effect of source credibility and negativity of information in two‐sided messages

By referring to different stages of an attribution process, this study examines how source credibility effects and opposing effects of negative information in two‐sided messages can be disentangled. The findings show that disclosure uniqueness (i.e., whether disclosures in a two‐sided message are given voluntarily or not) leads to both inferences on source credibility and inferences on product uniqueness. The inference on product uniqueness requires more cognitive effort on the part of the consumer than the inference on source credibility. Therefore, the effects of disclosures in two‐sided messages on brand attitudes depend on the cognitive load of consumers. Consumers make either an inference on the source or on both the source and the product. The results add to previous attribution research and the two‐sided message literature, showing that consumers under cognitive load can fail to make inferences on negative brand attributes in two‐sided messages. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Schema-ing with color and temperature: The effects of color-temperature congruity and the role of non-temperature associations

The present investigation utilizes schema congruity theory to predict when consumers use or do not use color-temperature associations to make downstream judgments of products. The results of five studies reveal that consumers use red-heat (blue-cold) color-temperature associations when the triggered red (blue) schema has no active non-temperature associations during product selection. In these cases, color-temperature congruity (red-heat and blue-cold) leads to more positive responses than color-temperature incongruity (red-cold and blue-heat). Additionally, the findings indicate that consumers do not use color-temperature associations when the situation activates both temperature and non-temperature associations for the red or blue schema (red-sales promotions or blue-trade dress). In these instances, consumers negate the influence of color-temperature associations in favor of non-temperature associations. This indicates that color-temperature congruency or incongruency does not affect downstream consumer responses because of a shift in the salience of schematic associations that weakens the influence of color-temperature associations.     

Designing the content of advertising in a differentiated market

In many markets, consumers use attribute information to assess the value they expect from purchasing a product or service. This includes many low involvement experience goods including take-out food, many packaged good categories and restaurants. In these markets, quality differences exist but many differences are horizontal in nature: the consumer is interested in finding a product that meets her unique tastes. Beyond ensuring that consumers know the brand, the category and the price; it seems advertising should provide consumers with attribute information. However, a significant proportion of advertising does not provide it. In fact, within the same category, competitors respond to messages that emphasize detailed attribute information with messages that are devoid of attribute information. These messages are uninformative about product attributes. We explore how competition in a differentiated market is affected by the ability of a firm has to choose uninformative messages. We construct a model to investigate the factors that affect a firm’s decision to use advertising with detailed attribute information or advertising that does not provide it. The model demonstrates that content decisions about advertising are affected by the differences between products, the range of heterogeneity in consumer tastes and the degree to which costs increase as a function of the quantity of information in advertising. Surprisingly, even when the cost to increase the quantity of information in advertising is low, uninformative campaigns can be more profitable than campaigns with attribute information. The analysis also demonstrates that firms can be more likely to provide attribute information when there are less consumers that are attribute-sensitive. Finally, the model shows that uninformative messages can create “artificial differentiation” in some situations.     

The influence of eco-label knowledge and trust on pro-environmental consumer behaviour in an emerging market

Consumers are increasingly concerned about the negative environmental implications of purchasing goods, which in turn shape their behaviour. Yet, there are indications that consumers do not always act on these concerns, causing an attitude–behaviour gap. For consumers to make ecologically responsible purchases, they need relevant product environmental information. Therefore, marketers and firms are increasingly integrating more detailed environmental information in their offerings, including eco-labels with externally validated information. This study integrates consumers’ knowledge and trust in eco-labels with their environmental knowledge to determine how these affect pro-environmental consumer behaviour (PECB). The findings suggest environmental and eco-label knowledge is positively associated with attitudes towards the environment, and that positive environmental attitudes and trust in eco-labels affect PECB. This implies that firms, policy-makers and accreditation organisations (i.e. labelling) can educate consumers about eco-labels and the environment to increase PECB. Such strategies will also build consumer knowledge and trust in eco-labels, necessary for facilitating PECB.     

Ethical consumerism: a view from Finland

Business ethics and corporate social responsibility have gained more attention in recent years. However, the consumers’ perspective on ethics is still a little researched area. This study reports a survey (n = 713) on the views of Finnish consumers about ethics in trade. Consumers’ willingness to promote business ethics as well as the obstacles to ethical consumption are investigated. The results of the study show that while the majority of the respondents regard business ethics as important, this attitude does not translate into their choice behaviour. Consumers are uncertain about which products and firms follow ethical rules and which do not. The most important obstacles to ethical consumption were difficulties in obtaining information, problems in product availability and high prices of ethical products.     

An Open Mind Wants More: Opinion Strength and the Desire for Genetically Modified Food Labeling Policy

Two opposing viewpoints exist in the literature; some suggest consumers are unconcerned and do not desire any genetically modified labeling, while others indicate the opposite. The mixed results may be because consumers make finer distinctions than surveys have called for, and have evaluation schemes sensitive to information about the benefits and risks associated with genetically modified foods. We find consumers are quite nuanced in their preferences for genetically modified labeling policy. Unexpectedly, consumers with less‐defined views desire mandatory labeling of the most stringent type, while consumers with stronger viewpoints (either pro‐ or con‐genetically modified) are more relaxed in their labeling requirements.     

The effect of product touch information and sale proneness on consumers' responses to price discounts

Since price discounts are costly and can negatively affect consumers' perceptions of quality, it is crucial to identify the factors that make them effective in stimulating purchase behavior. Drawing on cue utilization theory, we examine price discount effectiveness in affecting consumers' reliance on the sale cue based on the provided product touch information as an intrinsic cue and individual consumer differences in sale proneness. Two experimental studies indicate that price discount information, product touch information, and sale proneness interact to determine consumers' responses. Perceived quality is the underlying mechanism behind the observed effects. For nonsale-prone consumers, product touch information favorably influences responses to large price discounts by addressing product quality concerns and enhancing purchase confidence, but has no effect for regularly priced or low discounted products. For sale-prone consumers, product touch information is not effective in increasing their responses regardless of the discount size. A qualitative study provides support for these results and highlights the role of perceived quality and purchase confidence. The research contributes to behavioral pricing, cue utilization theory, and sensory marketing and suggests that marketing managers should provide consumers with product touch information when implementing high discounts for products for which prepurchase touch is important.     

Public face and private thrift in Chinese consumer behaviour

The concept of face, or mianzi, is quite important in Chinese culture. We examine how public face and private thrift together affect Chinese consumer shopping behaviour based on the results of a survey of nearly 400 Chinese consumers under the age of 40. When a product is used in public or the behaviour occurs in a public place, Chinese consumers are typically willing to spend more money than if a product or service is used in a private place or at home. In addition, non‐Chinese or Western brands do not mean more ‘face’ to Chinese consumers. Instead, it is the expense of the item that matters most with the ultimate goal of being praised by others.