Effet signal d'une réduction promotionnelle du prix : concept et expérimentation

Signaling effect of a promotional price reduction: concept and experimentation Abstract Sales promotion has often positive effects on short term demand effects due to the benefits provided and to the signaling effect of the communication. If information is missing (regular price, price reduction) when consumers have an extended choice process, the information transmitted by the sales promotion communication is used not only as a signal but also to elaborate the choice frame. Thus conflicting information between the promotional signal and perceived expensiveness can reduce perceived value. Under these conditions the author show, through analysis of experimental data on 320 consumers, that changes due to a promotional price reduction can result in higher rejection for a premium brand in a consumer good market. While decreases in sales volume due to promotional price reductions are not frequently observed, such a possibility means that managers have to anticipate a reduction of their promotional effectiveness when price reduction is not indicated (special offer) and to avoid its use for premium brands. Key words: Sales promotion, price reduction, promotion signal, experiment, Gabor & Granger.