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Prefer cheap or expensive products? Shopping stage matters
Wanshu Niu1, Wuke Zhang1, Mingliang Chen2
1School of Business, Ningbo University, Zhejiang, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|October 24, 2024
Summary
High product prices positively influence consumer attitudes when adding items to a virtual shopping cart by enhancing perceived quality. However, this effect reverses at the final purchase stage due to increased perceived monetary sacrifice.
Area of Science:
- Consumer Behavior
- E-commerce Marketing
- Psychology of Pricing
Background:
- Online shopping carts are crucial for e-commerce, yet suffer high abandonment rates (up to 70%).
- Understanding consumer attitudes toward products at different online shopping stages is vital for improving conversion rates.
- Product price significantly impacts online consumer decisions, but its effect varies across the purchase journey.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of product price on consumer attitudes towards products.
- To analyze these effects at distinct online shopping decision-making stages: add-to-cart and place-an-order.
- To explore the mediating roles of perceived product quality and monetary sacrifice in this relationship.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a behavioral experiment to simulate online shopping scenarios.
- Examined consumer responses to varying product prices.
- Analyzed the mediating effects of perceived quality and monetary sacrifice on product attitudes.
Main Results:
- A high product price positively affected consumer attitudes at the add-to-cart stage, driven by increased perceived product quality.
- Conversely, a high product price negatively impacted consumer attitudes at the place-an-order stage due to heightened perceived monetary sacrifice.
- Perceived product quality and monetary sacrifice were identified as significant mediators in the price-attitude relationship.
Conclusions:
- Product pricing strategy should be dynamic, considering the consumer's stage in the online purchase funnel.
- E-commerce platforms can leverage price perceptions to influence consumer attitudes, balancing quality signaling with cost considerations.
- The study offers valuable insights for optimizing online pricing strategies to reduce cart abandonment and enhance sales.
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