Miscomprehension in consumers' evaluation of bonus pack sales promotions when framed as "percent free" and "percent more free"

Larry Joseph Seibert, Purdue University

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine if miscomprehension previously found in product advertising is also present when the communication process involves product labels as the medium. This investigation focuses on a specific type of label, one that is found on "bonus packs"--consumer sales promotions in which a packaged good contains an additional amount of product inside the package at no additional cost to the consumer. The free product claim can be framed in several ways. Those examined in this study were "percent free" and "percent more free". While "percent free" and "percent more free" appear to be similar, the amount of free product claimed is different, since the former deal is based on the larger bonus size and the latter is based on the smaller regular size. One hundred ninety residents of a small Midwestern town between the ages of 15 and 85 participated in the in-home survey. In a paired comparison, 38% of the respondents believed that "25% More Free" was a better deal than "25% Free", and 52% of the subjects believed the two bonus packs were equal, even though "25% Free" offers consumers more free product than "25% More Free". Pre-test results indicated that 97% of the respondents could accurately calculate the amount of free product when framed as "50% Free", but 93% of the subjects overestimated the value of the "50% More Free" deal, believing both promotions were the same. One treatment involved an oral explanation of formulating "percent more free" problems and a second treatment involved a visual explanation. Both treatments significantly reduced the level of miscomprehension in the post-test questioning. The conclusion drawn is that subjects can calculate simple percentages, but have difficulty in formulating a "percent more free" problem. The level of miscomprehension increased significantly for subjects who did a larger proportion of their household's shopping duties. These results are consistent with other studies which showed subjects who do less shopping pay more attention to product labels. Miscomprehension decreased with higher levels of educational attainment. Age and gender were not significant at the p $<$.05 level.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Schrank, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Marketing|Personality

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