The influence of sharing versus self-use on the preference for different types of promotional offers

Annie Pei-I Yu, Shih-Chieh Chuang, Yin-Hui Cheng and Yi-Chin Wu

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2020, vol. 54, issue C

Abstract: Sharing, which refers to giving something you have to someone else, is one of the most ubiquitous forms of human behavior in the world. Everyone experiences it in various situations, including buying food. Nonetheless, although buying something to share with others is quite common in our daily lives, most consumer research on buying focuses on the condition of “self-use†rather than “sharing.†The main purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of promotional offers on consumers' purchase decisions when buying food for self-use/sharing with others. The authors conducted four experiments to answer the main research questions. The results indicated that consumers prefer “price discounts†over “bonus packs†when the shopping task relates to self-use due to their concern about “loss reduction.†In contrast, they prefer bonus packs over price discounts when the shopping task relates to sharing with others because of their focus on “extra gains.†In addition, consumers’ perceived responsibility is a moderator. When perceived responsibility is low and the purchase is for self-use (sharing with others), price discounts (bonus pack) are favored over bonus packs (price discounts). However, when perceived responsibility is high, consumer preference to promotional offers are not significant different either in self-use or sharing with others condition. It seems that role of responsibility is influential when the shopping task relates to self-use. This study not only contributes to a deeper understanding of consumer psychology but will also be beneficial to practitioners in designing effective promotional strategies that consider motives for food shopping.

Keywords: Sharing; Sales promotion; Price discount; Bonus pack; Responsibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:joreco:v:54:y:2020:i:c:s0969698919305296

DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.102026

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