Searching for the best price: An experimental look at consumer search effort
Bruce H. Allen Ph.D., David R. Lambert Ph.D.
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · 1978 · Volume 6 · Issue 4
Abstract
Certain factors may influence the extent to which consumers are willing to expend effort bargaining with retailers in order to gain additional pre-purchase information. One factor could be the consumer's favorable or unfavorable orientation toward the bargaining process itself. Another factor could be consumer expectation as to whether bargaining is permitted by retailers. A third factor might be whether a consumer's actual participation in bargaining encourages, or discourages, additional search activity. This research reports the results of a shopping simulation experiment which suggests that greater search effort is associated with individuals who are favorably predisposed toward retail bargaining and/or expect bargaining to be appropriate in a given situation.
Keywords
Concession, Search Effort, Good Price, Bargaining Process, Shopping Trip
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