Economic and utilitarian benefits of monetary versus non-monetary in-store sales promotions

Abstract

While prior research has examined the issue of sales promotion proneness, very little has examined proneness to non-monetary promotions, such as contests and premiums discovered in store. This study draws on a promotions benefits framework to examine the influence of shoppers’ desired benefits on their relative proneness to in-store monetary and non-monetary promotions. Computer-aided telephone interviewing (CATI) data gathered from 500 grocery shoppers are used. The findings show that shoppers who are prone to using non-monetary in-store promotions seek exploration, entertainment and value expression benefits, in common with shoppers who are prone to monetary promotions. Both monetary and non-monetary promotion-prone shoppers feel financially constrained. In addition, non-monetary promotion-prone shoppers enjoy gambling and other hedonic outcomes. The managerial implications of our research findings are that many monetary sales promotion-prone shoppers may be attracted by the benefits provided by non-monetary promotions. The increased use by managers of non-monetary promotions instead of monetary promotions may result in improved category value and brand equity benefits.

Keywords:

• sales promotion
• non-monetary
• benefits
• proneness
• mavenism
• CATI

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mike Reid

Mike Reid is an Associate Professor of Marketing at RMIT University, School of Economics and Finance. His academic research focuses on drivers of new product development (NPD) success, consumer new product adoption, the use of sales promotions as a marketing tool and more recently the issue of household obesity. He has published in a range of journals including Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Women and Aging and Journal of Services Marketing, among others.

Peter Thompson

Peter Thompson is a Lecturer of Marketing in the Department of Marketing, Monash University. His primary research interests include branding, consumer behaviour, sales promotion, sport marketing and marketing communications. He has published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and Accounting Education. He is completing a PhD in the area of brand fit and has also co-authored several books on the Melbourne Cup and Phar Lap.

Felix Mavondo

Felix Mavondo is Professor of Marketing in the Department of Marketing, Monash University. His primary research interests include marketing strategy, market orientation, relationship marketing, retailing and agribusiness. He has published in many journals including Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of International Marketing, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Travel Research, Decision Science and Journal of Marketing Management, among others.

Karen Brunsø

Karen Brunsø is Head of Department and Professor at the Department of Business Administration, Aarhus School of Business. Her research interests include consumer behaviour, cross-cultural marketing and market research and lifestyle analysis. Her focus is very strongly on the food industry and consumers. She has published widely in such journals as British Food Journal, European Journal of Marketing, Appetite, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Food Quality and Preference, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services and Journal of Business Research, among others.