Trade‐Offs Between Depth and Frequency: The Impact of Matching Discount Adjustments With Product Type on Consumers' Purchase Intention

The discount strategy has become a widely used approach by managers to boost sales and expand customer bases. However, despite the potential benefits of this strategy, the frequent implementation of discounts can negatively influence consumer behavior and lead to significant marketing expenses. To date, research has not explored effective strategies for withdrawing these discounts. Based on the benefit congruency framework, this study examined the effect of matching discount adjustments with product type on consumers' willingness to purchase. The results of three 2 (discount adjustments: frequency withdrawal vs. depth withdrawal) × 2 (product type: utilitarian vs. hedonic) between‐subjects experiments confirmed the positive effect of this matching. Specifically, for hedonic (utilitarian) products, withdrawing discount depth (frequency) led to higher purchase intentions. Additionally, we demonstrated the reasons for the effects of discount withdrawal in terms of depth (perceived loss of utilitarian value) and frequency (perceived loss of hedonic value). This study contributed to the discounting literature by discovering that perceived value is the theoretical mechanism that determines the effectiveness of matching discount adjustments to product types. The research findings offer recommendations for managers seeking to adjust their pricing strategies and offer new insights into how to withdraw discounts while simultaneously retaining consumers.