An Empirical Study of the Relationship Among Self-Control, Price Promotions and Consumer Purchase Behavior

Abstract

Price promotions as a marketing tool can effectively attract customers to buy products impulsively. However, when customers are in the face of price promotions, their self-control also emerges. Their desire to consume collides with their self-control, which will react differently to vice and virtue category products. In order to figure out the relationship among self-control, price promotions and consumer purchase behavior, this paper uses shopping path and POS data to study customers' shopping and buying behaviors in stores. Through logistic regression analysis, we verified how self-control and price promotions affected customers' purchase process. Then we found that customers would be more likely to purchase vice category products with price promotion when they stayed in a store for a certain period. This paper is the first one to empirically study the effect of both self-control and price promotions on customers' purchase behavior of vice category products. It can provide market managers with a better understanding on customers' purchase behavior and a more effective way to increase sales.