The purpose of this study is to examine whether consumers with a maximizing (versus satisficing) decision-making style are more likely to infer lower quality from price discounts, which negatively impacts product evaluations.
Study 1 (n = 203) measured price-discounted purchases as a function of maximizing decision-making style in a field study. Three subsequent experiments examined maximizer response to discount price frames. Study 2 (full price, discount and n = 203) replicated the effect and demonstrated the underlying psychological process. Study 3 (n = 502, full price, shallow discount and deep discount) tested the moderating effect of discount depth. Study 4 (n = 414, full price, shallow discount, bonus pack and free gift) tested promotional format boundary conditions.
Maximizers evaluated price-discounted products more negatively because of lower product quality inferences and reduced downward social comparisons. The effect was attenuated by deep discounts and free gift offers.
Three studies used hypothetical scenarios and online participants, limiting external validity.
Managers can more effectively target maximizers with promotional formats that decrease [increase] the salience of the price reduction [economic savings].
Maximizers made aware of their tendency to heuristically devaluate price-discounted products may give additional consideration to such products, leading to more optimal choice outcomes.
The results of this study bolster emerging findings challenging the conceptualization of maximizers as highly rational and utility-maximizing decision-makers (Ma et al., 2023; Misuraca et al., 2021; Thomas, 2022) by showing that maximizers were more likely than satisficers to engage in heuristic processing in the context of price discounts.
