Effect of Dealing Patterns on Consumer Perceptions of Deal Frequency and Willingness to Pay

Research has shown that brands with higher deal frequency obtain a smaller market share gain on deal and have a lower expected price. However, the level of dealing must be perceived by consumers before it can affect consumer response to promotions. Hence, perception of deal frequency may affect consumer price perceptions and deal response much more strongly than the actual deal frequency. The author determines how consumer perceptions of deal frequency for a brand may be influenced by the dealing pattern of that brand and of other brands. She shows that the price consumers are willing to pay for a brand is correlated more highly with perceived deal frequency than with actual deal frequency. She also shows that the price consumers are willing to pay is correlated with the actual deal frequency of the brand for certain dealing patterns, but not for others