A Study of the Relationship between Consumer Characteristics and Reference Price Utilization

• Main Authors: Yu-Lin Yang, 楊毓琳
• Other Authors: Yuan-Shuh Lii
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2004
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/89092480832002195770

碩士 === 逢甲大學 === 國際貿易所 === 92 === This paper examines how consumer characteristics with different product categories affect the process by which consumers utilize multiple internal reference prices (IRPs) to evaluate the offer retail prices. We examined two alternative processes (unitized and non-unitized) that are proposed in earlier research. The main consumer characteristics suggested here are product involvement, product knowledge, and price consciousness. Product categories are shampoo and hair salon. The results indicate that consumers use the same process (unitized model) to evaluate a retail price. Consumers would integrate the five internal reference prices into a single, well-defined unitized internal reference price (UIRP), which mediates their responses to the retail price. However, the number and types of IRPs used to determine the value of an offer are affected by the consumer characteristics with different product categories. That is, consumers with different consumer characteristics will use different number and types of IRPs in their evaluation process.