Promotional evaluation and response among variety seeking segments

Research conducted over the last decade, on the influence of brand inertia or variety seeking on promotional response, has yielded mixed results. Variety seekers have been found to be more price-sensitive by one set of researchers, while another stream of work finds them to be less sensitive. Reconciling the two findings, the current study empirically addresses the proposition that variety seekers use price promotions strategically, as a way to experiment with different brands over time. Although consumers evaluate price promotions differently according to whether the promoted brand is more or less intrinsically favored than a reference brand, high and low variety seekers respond to brand comparisons differently, leading to differences in evaluation and responsiveness to price promotion offers. The empirical results confirm that high variety seekers are less sensitive to the preference order of considered brands, but only within a limited range of intrinsic brand favorability. Once differences in brand favorability are accounted for, moreover, finds that high variety seekers are more sensitive to promotional effort. This is compatible with the notion that, within an acceptable set of brands, variety seekers use price promotions as a low-cost strategy for experiencing different brands over time. This understanding of the relationship among promotional offers, specific brands and consumer segments, provides valuable insights to brand managers as they consider their strategic promotional options, and design an effective promotional strategy.