Effects of price reframing tactics on consumer perceptions

This article compares the effects of three pricing tactics—temporal reframing of prices (TRP), measure-based unit pricing (UP), and usage-based UP—on various consumer perceptions. Although these tactics are similar as they all reframe retail prices to a smaller amount, dissimilarity also exists as the respective units used for calculating these reframed prices differ. A laboratory experiment was performed to draw comparisons among the three types in a context of print advertisement. The results suggest that usage-based UP provided the most beneficial information for consumers; however, the differences between usage-based UP and TRP were not substantial.     

Consumers׳ perception of the complexity of selected household purchase decisions

This study provides evidence of consumers׳ perception of the complexity of a variety of product/service decisions in terms of a complexity continuum and indicates how such categorisation is influenced by specific demographic characteristics, specifically gender, age and education level that are predominant in terms of consumer socialisation. A survey which was conducted in a major city and involved 461 respondents. The multiple section structured questionnaire were completed by willing spouses/partners of participating households. Complexity values were calculated in terms of a specific anchoring product, namely major household appliances. It became evident that the most expensive purchases that households ever make, namely purchasing a home and a car, which were perceived to be the most complex by all while grocery purchase was on the least complex divide of the continuum. Also on the more complex divide of the continuum were service related decisions such as insurance. Particularly noteworthy is the confirmation of significant differences in perceived complexity within product categories that are perceived to be the most- and the least complex by all. This confirms the vulnerability of certain segments of the consumer society and the need for concerted effort to communicate with them in appropriate media and on a level that would enhance informed consumer decision-making. Underlying reasons probably relate to consumers׳ risk perception and affordability issues that could be explored in future research. Interestingly the findings of the gender comparison shifted the focus to different product categories than those elicited in the age-, income and level of education comparisons. Findings therefore confirm the relevance of demographic characteristics in media communication and consumer facilitation as well as in research. Retailers and marketers should therefore be cognisant of the characteristics of their target markets and be very selective and cautious when identifying communication media.     

Who's on the tourists' menu? Exploring the social significance of restaurant experiences for tourists

Taking a Consumer Culture Perspective, this paper explores the co-production of meaning among participants in tourists' restaurant experiences. Responding to criticisms that interpreting consumer behaviour should focus both on the individual and also on the collective context of consumption (Askegaard and Linnet, 2011), our research explores the social significance of these experiences and how they feed into the tourist's identity project. 34 ethnographic interviews are led with a view to exploring how tourists co-produce meaning within their group and also with staff and other patrons in the context of restaurant experience and these are followed up with a further 57 semi-structured interviews. Restaurant experiences are shown to be both rich and complex in social meanings. Thematic analysis leads to the identification and discussion regarding four contexts where social meanings are co-produced, namely sharing experiences, family togetherness and transmission, cultural guidance and customer-to-customer interaction.     

A critical re-examination of the Carlson–Parkin method

The euro area has been experiencing a long period of inflation well below the targeted 2%. This has once again brought the problem of quantifying inflation expectations into the scientific focus. Within the framework of the Carlson–Parkin (CP) method, previous research has mostly focused on altering the probability distributions. Analysing as much as 2688 versions of the CP method, we prove that the distribution choice provides only minor improvements in the forecasting accuracy. On the other hand, the method assumptions (unbiased expectations and the number of survey response categories) play the pivotal role. We make an attempt to provide an assumptions-free quantification method by recognizing the fact that agents perceive ‘moderate’ inflation through the inflation targeting policy.     

An heretical consumer research perspective on music,culture and heritage

ABSTRACT

This special issue presents both empirical and conceptual papers on music, culture, and heritage as a discursive site of human action and social interaction. The theme of this special issue of music, culture, and heritage are aspects symbolically embedded throughout the market, as well as within cultural and ritualistic practice. The work featured in this special issue captures the essence of the 2015 Heretical Consumer Research Revival conference held 28–30 September in New Orleans, LA (partially funded by Association of Consumer Research). This diverse gathering of critical thinkers and consumer researchers considered various avenues to enrich future directions for consumer culture research. In line with that conference, this special issue is oriented towards generating innovative, radical, and even heretical schools of thought in consumer culture research surrounding markets, music, culture, and heritage in a nonconventional, nonconformist manner.     

Does more attractive choice always decrease choice deferral? The moderating effect of ideal point

This research shows that having a more attractive product in a choice set will not always reduce choice deferral. It depends on the type of consumers and type of product attributes. The current research examines the interaction effect of attractiveness difference and ideal point on choice deferral with three studies that were examined using products and services in related hospitality industries. Ideal point exists when consumers have specific preference on combination of product attributes. The results revealed that consumers without an ideal point will tend to defer choice in a small than large attractiveness difference choice set, while the tendency to defer choice for consumers with an ideal point will not be affected by the attractiveness difference in a choice set (study 1). A different moderating effect exists when a type of product attributes is changed (study 2) and we rule out the moderating effect of ideal point (study 3).     

Crowdsourcing and brand control

Crowdsourcing is the deliberate use of crowds to solve problems, create new products, and improve consumer experiences. When used by brands, crowdsourcing engages consumers by asking them to be part of a deliberate call to action. Crowdsourcing provides interesting and dynamic marketing opportunities for brands, given the consumer engagement it entails. This conceptual study examines the literature on crowdsourcing and brand community, and makes a series of propositions regarding this rich marketing arena. Herein, we discuss managerial implications of the relationship between crowdsourcing and brand community dynamics and propose a typology for brands to better assess customer bases and market realities.     

Consideration-set heuristics

Consumers often choose products by first forming a consideration set and then choosing from among considered products. When there are many products to screen (or many features to evaluate), it is rational for consumers to use consider-then-choose decision processes and to do so with heuristic decision rules. Managerial decisions (product development, marketing communications, etc.) depend upon the ability to identify and react to consumers' heuristic consideration-set rules. We provide managerial examples and review the state-of-the-art in the theory and measurement of consumers' heuristic consideration-set rules. Advances in greedoid methods, Bayesian inference, machine-learning, incentive alignment, measurement formats, and unstructured direct elicitation make it feasible and cost-effective to understand, quantify, and simulate “what-if” scenarios for a variety of heuristics. These methods now apply to a broad set of managerial problems including applications in complex product categories with large numbers of product features and feature-levels.     

Social bundling: A novel method to enhance consumers’ intention to purchase online bundles

Bundling in retail has been argued to improve sales volume and speed, which can improve retailers’ operation performance. However, recent research finds that the purchase quantity requirement in traditional bundling deters non-buyers from becoming buyers. This paper proposes “social bundling,” as a novel method that alleviates the quantity requirement while satisfying the bundling benefits for consumers and retailers. We empirically test a theoretical model that explains the advantages and disadvantages of social bundling vis-à-vis traditional bundling in influencing consumers’ intentions to purchase in bundles. We conclude that social bundling outperforms traditional bundling in driving intention to purchase in bundles.