Exploring Price Unfairness in Multi-Channel Retailing and Its Impact on Complaint Behaviour

Abstract

As retail companies expand their presence across multiple channels, they face the crucial question of whether to offer uniform pricing for their products across all channels or implement some form of price differentiation strategy. While there are arguments for both approaches, there is a lack of research on how consumers perceive such pricing strategies. The present study investigates the influence of perceived price unfairness on consumer complaint behaviour and the effect of the interaction between the place of purchase and the place of the reference transaction on this relationship. We conducted a scenario-based experiment involving 190 participants with a 2 × 2 factorial design. We analysed the data using the PLS method, by applying the MIMIC approach. Our findings suggest that consumers’ perception of price unfairness is not affected by the interaction of the place of purchase and the place of reference transaction. However, the context may play a role in determining whether consumers will seek sanctions against the “unfair” providers. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of our findings.