Kenneth C. Manning

Unit prices on retail shelf labels: an assessment of information prominence

Abstract Although unit prices have been provided to consumers for nearly 30 years, the format in which this information is presented has been largely ignored. An examination of major grocery retailers found considerable differences in how prominently unit prices are presented to shoppers on shelf labels. Two methodological approaches are then used to examine the prominence of unit prices in a grocery–shopping context. The results of a field study support expectations that, among consumers who are relatively low in price consciousness, the prominence of unit price information has a positive effect on awareness and usage of such information. In a second study, a controlled experiment shows that increasing the prominence of unit price information affects consumers’ shopping behaviors by shifting purchases toward lower unit priced items and ultimately reducing grocery expenditures. Suggestions for future research and implications for retailers and policymakers are discussed.

Identifying consumer preferences for nutrition information on grocery store shelf labels

Nutrition labels can potentially benefit consumers by increasing product knowledge and reducing search costs. However, the global increase in obesity rates leads one to question the effectiveness of current nutrition information formats. Alternative formats for providing nutrition information may be more effective. Shoppers at a major grocery chain participated in choice experiments designed to identify preferences for nutrition information provided on grocery store shelf labels. Shoppers demonstrate a strong affinity for shelf label nutrition information and the presentation of the nutrition information significantly affects their preferences as well. Several demographic variables help to explain differences in preferences.

Grocery Price Setting and Quantity Surcharges

Quantity surcharges occur when the unit price of a brands larger package is higher than the unit price of the same brands smaller package. The authors examine how price-setting practices in the grocery industry help explain the existence of quantity surcharges. Two studies support the authors’ contention that common pricing practices aimed at establishing a favorable store–price image can result in quantity surcharges. First, an experiment shows that consumer demand and the importance price setters place on establishing a low store–price image have an interactive effect on price-setting behavior. Second, an examination of retail sales volume, price, and cost data suggests that such price-setting reactions can result in quantity surcharges when certain asymmetries in demand exist across package sizes. The authors also discuss managerial and public policy implications along with areas for further study.

When Do Firms Conform to Regulatory Control? The Effect of Control Processes on Compliance and Opportunism

The authors use social control theory to develop a conceptual model that addresses the effectiveness of regulatory agencies’ (e.g., Food and Drug Administration, Occupational Safety and Health Administration) field-level efforts to obtain conformance with product safety laws. Central to the model are the control processes agencies use when monitoring organizations and enforcing the safety rules. These approaches can be labeled formal control (e.g., rigid enforcement) and informal control (e.g., social instruction). The theoretical framework identifies an important antecedent of control and the relative effectiveness of controls alternative forms in gaining compliance and reducing opportunism. Furthermore, the model predicts that the regulated firms’ level of agreement with the safety rules moderates the relationships between control and firm responses. A local health departments administration of state food safety regulations provides the empirical context for testing the hypotheses. The results from a survey of 173 restaurants largely support the proposed model. The study findings inform a discussion of effective methods of administering product safety laws.

Flavoured cigarettes, sensation seeking and adolescents’ perceptions of cigarette brands

Objectives: This study examined the interactive effects of cigarette package flavour descriptors and sensation seeking on adolescents’ brand perceptions. Methods: High school students (n = 253) were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions and sequentially exposed to cigarette package illustrations for three different brands. In the flavour descriptor condition, the packages included a description of the cigarettes as “cherry”, while in the traditional descriptor condition the cigarette brands were described with common phrases found on tobacco packages such as “domestic blend.” Following exposure to each package participants’ hedonic beliefs, brand attitudes and trial intentions were assessed. Sensation seeking was also measured, and participants were categorised as lower or higher sensation seekers. Results: Across hedonic belief, brand attitude and trial intention measures, there were interactions between package descriptor condition and sensation seeking. These interactions revealed that among high (but not low) sensation seekers, exposure to cigarette packages including sweet flavour descriptors led to more favourable brand impressions than did exposure to packages with traditional descriptors. Conclusions: Among high sensation seeking youths, the appeal of cigarette brands is enhanced through the use of flavours and associated descriptions on product packaging.

Consumer Response to Retailers’ Use of Partially Comparative Pricing

Consumers sometimes encounter a combination of comparative and noncomparative prices in the marketplace. For example, a grocer may employ signage that provides favorable price comparisons with those of a competitor for a portion of its products, a practice that the authors refer to as “partially comparative pricing.” The authors examine the effects of partially comparative pricing on consumer response and find that it has both desirable and undesirable effects. On the one hand, such pricing enhances consumers’ beliefs about the relative prices of comparatively priced products and about the retailers relative prices in general. On the other hand, such pricing also reduces consumers’ relative price beliefs about noncomparatively priced products and their intentions to purchase such products. The authors further show that the adverse influence of partially comparative pricing stems from consumers’ suspicions about why price comparisons exist for some, but not all, products. They also document how these effects depend on store patronage. They discuss implications of their research and provide suggestions for future empirical efforts.

Understanding the Mental Representations Created by Comparative Advertising

Abstract Despite theories suggesting that the cognitive impact of comparative advertisements differs from that of noncomparative ads, little progress has been made toward empirically understanding the types of mental representations engendered by these forms of advertising. The current research provides evidence pertinent to this issue across three experiments. As anticipated, comparative ads are more likely to cause mental impressions about the advertised brand relative to competitors than are noncomparative ads. The results also indicate that differentiative comparative ads generate disassociative rather than the associative mental impressions previously thought to characterize the processing of such ads. In addition, the findings demonstrate that both relative and nonrelative impressions may be formed following exposure to comparative ads. Implications are drawn for interpreting the findings of prior investigations, as well as for undertaking future research on comparative advertising.

Attributions and Conformity in Illicit Consumption: The Mediating Role of Group Attractiveness

Although research has demonstrated an association between certain types of explanations for peer-group illicit consumption and self-reported intentions to consume drugs and alcohol in response to peer influence, the mechanisms underlying these relationships have not been well studied. The results of two studies support predictions that group attractiveness mediates the effects of attributions regarding peer-group illicit consumption on intentions to conform. Normative attributions for group substance abuse were associated with reduced group attractiveness. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for further research and for the design and implementation of effective intervention programs.

Free Riding and Resale Price Maintenance: Insights from Marketing Research and Practice

Although a topic of considerable interest and debate for nearly 100 years, antitrust understanding of resale price maintenance (RPM) has been informed primarily through theory developed in antitrust economics with limited empirical evidence. Addressing calls for research on RPM and its related practices, the current article draws upon existing academic and practitioner research in marketing to identify relevant insights and findings for understanding the primary justification for RPM—the so-called free rider explanation. Through its examination of research on multi-channel shopping and multi-channel marketing, distribution, retailing, and customer management, the article augments antitrust understanding in important and novel ways.

Resale Price Maintenance After Leegin: Behavioral, Evolutionary, and Institutional Insights for Advancing the Free Rider Thesis

Resale price maintenance (RPM) is a controversial channel pricing strategy that restricts the price at which a product can be resold. Contemporary understanding of RPM is derived mainly from economics, in which various perspectives have been applied to explain its use and effects. Motivated by a recent Supreme Court decision that altered prior restrictions on the use of minimum RPM, the authors propose three new perspectives and related theoretical propositions to enhance understanding of the primary procompetitive explanation of minimum RPM: the free rider thesis. The perspectives and propositions advance knowledge of RPM in ways that are important to academic scholarship, public policy, and managerial practice.