An examination of deal proneness across sales promotion types: A consumer segmentation perspective

Abstract

This research examines if there are consumer segments that have a propensity to be deal prone in general and/or segments that reflect a proneness to deals at some more specific level (e.g., a segment reflecting a propensity to respond to price promotions but not nonprice promotions, a specific coupon prone segment, a rebate prone segment). Analyses using multi-item scales assessing consumers ' proneness to eight different types of sales promotion indicate the existence of a consumer segment that reflects a generalized deal proneness across deal types. These segment-based findings are validated by relating segment membership to deal-responsive behaviors assessed in a natural field setting. Significant differences between the consumer segments are shown across eleven dependent measures. Given the objective of reaching deal prone consumers in an efficient manner, these results suggest that usage of a broad variety of promotion types may not be necessary to achieve this goal.