Consumer behaviour and the retail “sales”

Abstract

In spite of the ubiquity of seasonal and other retail “sales”, they have been curiously neglected within the marketing literature. This is most surprising, given their impact on profit‐margins, brand/store images, supplier‐retailer relationships and consumer behaviour. Since 1980, the effects of comparison price advertising on consumer behaviour have received growing attention from researchers, although much of this literature has been at the individual product level and confined to groceries. Builds on this research in the specific context of store wide “sales”, where the impact of reductions extends far beyond the sum of individual price changes. Based on focus groups and preliminary surveys of “sale” shoppers, develops and tests a typology of motivations. Presents a taxonomy of responses to “sales”, illustrating alternative behavioural responses. Concludes with a model of the “attitude problem” brought about by recession, overcapacity, overuse of the strategy and growing scepticism on the part of consumers.