Patience and promotion: Intertemporal preference for premium-based (vs. discount-based) promotions

Sales promotions are widely used in marketing communications. Yet, little is known about how consumers respond to promotions across time spans. This paper investigates whether and how consumer patience would differ between discount-based and premium-based promotions. Through seven experiments, we consistently demonstrate that consumers are more patient when waiting for premium-based (vs. discount-based) promotions. This effect occurs because consumers are more likely to engage in mental simulation for premium-based (vs. discount-based) promotions, which subsequently leads to higher positive anticipatory utility and greater patience. To further confirm this mechanism, we also identify several boundary conditions that can reduce the tendency to mentally simulate consumption experience associated with premium-based promotions. Specifically, the effect diminishes when consumers are less inclined to mentally simulate their consumption experiences, and when the upgraded product in the premium-based promotion is less likely to induce mental simulation of consumption experiences. Moreover, we contrast two types of premium-based promotions, involving enhancement in either quality or quantity, and demonstrate that consumers are less likely to wait for a premium-based promotion based on quantity (vs. quality) enhancement.