An Insight on the Influence of Price-Matching Guarantees on Consumer Behaviour in Romania

Price-matching guarantees represent a technique that promises the refund of price difference in the case a customer finds elsewhere a lower price. Such tactic is used by stores to create a low price image and to stimulate the searching behaviour. Price-matching guarantees might have also an influence on value perceptions and shopping intentions. In Romania, this technique was introduced in the last 15 years, being conducted few studies on Romanians attitude on such pricing tactic. The present paper has as purpose to identify the way in which the refund depth (the amount offered as difference in the case of finding a lower price elsewhere) and the searching area (the area where must be found the stores that offer price-matching guarantees) influence the price perceptions, the searching behaviour, the value perceptions and the price fairness perceptions. There was conducted a 2x2 marketing experiment among Romanian students that were exposed previously to price-matching guarantees technique and that belong to the target market of the product used in the experiment. The managerial implications of the study evidence some directions on the most effective ways to use price-matching guarantees, concerning price perceptions and shopping behaviour.