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Why consumers respond differently to absolute versus percentage descriptions of quantities

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  • Danny Weathers

  • Scott Swain
  • Jay Carlson

Abstract

Consumers often provide different evaluations of absolute and percentage descriptions of the same quantity. Prior research has attributed this to two factors: selection of distinct reference contexts and differential cognitive difficulty. However, in a preliminary study, we show that discrepancies in consumer evaluations of absolute and percentage quantities can arise even when these two factors are held constant. A series of studies provides evidence that (1) this effect is rooted in automatic, nonverbal associations between numerical stimuli and analogue magnitude coding and (2) the influence of analogue magnitude codes manifests across different kinds of quantities, different evaluations, and different processing modes. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Danny Weathers & Scott Swain & Jay Carlson, 2012. "Why consumers respond differently to absolute versus percentage descriptions of quantities," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 943-957, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:23:y:2012:i:4:p:943-957
    DOI: 10.1007/s11002-012-9189-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Manoj Thomas & Daniel H. Simon & Vrinda Kadiyali, 2010. "The Price Precision Effect: Evidence from Laboratory and Market Data," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(1), pages 175-190, 01-02.
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    3. Weathers, Danny & Swain, Scott D. & Makienko, Igor, 2015. "When and how should retailers rationalize the size and duration of price discounts?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2610-2618.
    4. Us-Salam, Danish, 2025. "Mitigating Vulnerability: The Role of Risk Warnings, Information Order & Salience in Crypto Assets," Research Technical Papers 9/RT/25, Central Bank of Ireland.
    5. Richard C. Hanna & Scott D. Swain & Paul D. Berger, 2016. "Optimizing time-limited price promotions," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(2), pages 77-92, July.
    6. Aku-Ville Lehtimäki & Kent B. Monroe & Outi Somervuori, 2019. "The influence of regular price level (low, medium, or high) and framing of discount (monetary or percentage) on perceived attractiveness of discount amount," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(1), pages 76-85, February.

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