Vritaanta August 2014

Paathshala
21
would have a price-off, exchange offers, warranties
and service schemes all bundled together.
Laptops come with price-offs, accessories,
additional memory and swanky
sleeves. Bundling is a strategy followed by
marketers, mixing value increasing and value
adding promotions in order to create the best
effect. While consumers love a price discount,
a loyalty program increases their bonding with
the brand, thus bundling two kinds of promotions
and multiplying their effects.
3. Online offers: From an era when purchases
were deliberate lists of products to buy, times
have changed… and how! The list may still be
made, but impulse purchases are on the rise.
What’s more, consumers don’t even need to
go to a store to make that purchase. Not only
has information search moved almost completely
onto online media, actual purchases
are going that way too. The success of online
retailers like Flipkart.com, Myntra.com and
Snapdeal.com only show that markets are
now virtual and online.
4. Framing of offers: It’s the story of a glass that’s
half empty or half full, all over again! How the
promotion messages are framed makes a significant
impact on consumers’ response to
them. Take for example your reaction to an
offer that says “shipping charges free” as
against saying “40 INR discount”, on a product
that’s worth 500 INR. Need I say more!
5. Shopper marketing: Shopper marketing aims
at persuading the consumer in the act of shopping.
This could be in the retail outlet or virtually,
on a website. It is based on the premise of
changing consumer behaviour, from a deliberate
and rigid consumer to an impulse buyer. It
is a tool that appeals to the impulse buyer,
with offers at the time of the purchase. Imagine
your surprise at walking into a store and
realising that your purchases for the day are
funded in half by the retailer, simply because
you are their 100 th customer of the day!
6. Exchange offers: An exchange offer is an answer
to the guilt we experience while retiring
a still functional product (such as a one-yearold
mobile phone). It is also the euphoria attached
to getting value for a product that’s
completely worthless (such as old tattered
shoes). But wait – there’s more. It is also a service
of retrieving and disposing products that
are tough to dispose (such as old mattresses).
It is therefore, by far the most effective sales
promotion tool in the durables segment – and
widely used too.
The times have never been better for the value seeking,
deal-prone Indian consumer. Especially when
news of price hikes on rail travel, LPG and other consumables
are on the rounds, the golden ray of hope is
just a click away. So what are you waiting for? Indulge
yourself – it can’t get better than this!
References:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Great_Online_Shopping_Festival
2. http://www.shoppermarketingmag.com/home/
3. Janiszewski, C., & Cunhs Jr. M. (2004) The influence
of price discount framing on the evaluation
of a product bundle. Journal of Consumer
Research, 30(4), 534-546.
4. Menon, P., Viyaraghavan, P. (2014). Nature of
Exchange Offers and Antecedents of Exchange
Offer Proneness. Samvad, 6(1), 66-73
5. Sheng, S., Bao, Y., & Pan, Y. (2007). Partitioning
or bundling? Perceived fairness of the surcharge
makes a difference. Psychology & Marketing,
24(12), 1025-1041.
Article by Professor Preetha Menon, faculty SIBM Pune