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Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics
Consumer attitude towards sales promotion techniques: a multi-country study
Kim Fam, Pedro Q. Brito, Mahesh Gadekar, James E. Richard, Ugtakh Jargal, Wenchao Liu,
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To cite this document:
Kim Fam, Pedro Q. Brito, Mahesh Gadekar, James E. Richard, Ugtakh Jargal, Wenchao Liu, (2019)
"Consumer attitude towards sales promotion techniques: a multi-country study", Asia Pacific Journal
of Marketing and Logistics, https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-01-2018-0005
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Consumer attitude towards
sales promotion techniques:
a multi-country study
Kim Fam
Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand and
Yatai Business School, Jilin University of Finance and Economics,
Changchun, China
Pedro Q. Brito and Mahesh Gadekar
Faculty of Economics, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
James E. Richard
School of Marketing and International Business, Victoria University of Wellington,
Wellington, New Zealand
Ugtakh Jargal
National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and
Wenchao Liu
Jilin University of Finance and Economics, Changchun, China
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare the influence of age, education, income,
product involvement and sales promotion (SP) characteristics on consumer attitudes towards SP across eight
culturally dissimilar environments.
Design/methodology/approach –A multi-country mall intercept and mail survey was conducted in Brunei,
China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand (n¼4,125 respondents).
Findings –Country, education level and income significantly influence consumer attitudes towards SP.
Some countries show a significant monetary value interaction effect. Consumers using delayed-reward SPT
reported a significantly more positive attitude towards SP. Discounts and coupons are the two most highly
ranked SP across the sampled countries.
Research limitations/implications –Limitations include the use of intercept and mail sampling.
Extending the study to include additional Asian countries and other regions would benefit the understanding
of cultural influences on SP.
Practical implications –Multinational marketing managers should consider three aspects of SP
implementation strategy: cultural and demographic factors, interaction between delayed-reward SP and
socio-demographics variables; country specific SP preferences to promote both sales and brand equity.
Originality/value –This study investigates and extends research on SP across cultures. In particular the
research helps better understand the impact of demographic factors and culture on attitudes towards SP,
and implementation of global promotions.
Keywords Culture, Consumer behaviour, Sales promotion, Multi-country, Consumer attitude
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Temporary incentives such as sales promotions (SP) targeted at consumers are often utilised as
weapons to provide a competitive edge (McNeill, 2013; Raju, 1995). In 2013, North American
investment in SP was US$176bn and is expected to grow 2.6 per cent in 2017, and
3.4 per cent in 2018 (Garibian, 2013; Statista, 2018). Although SP encourages customer
purchase, influences sales and brand choice decisions, and helps marketers sell products, not all
SP meet their business objectives, and therefore some businesses are reducing their reliance on
SPs ( Jee and de Run, 2013; Roderick, 2016; Wierenga and Soethoudt, 2010; Yi and Yoo, 2011).
Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing
and Logistics
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1355-5855
DOI 10.1108/APJML-01-2018-0005
Received 10 January 2018
Revised 16 July 2018
6 September 2018
17 October 2018
Accepted 23 October 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1355-5855.htm
Consumer
attitude
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The lack of SP success may be due to the failure to understand the cultural environment
(Markus and Kitayama, 1991), under-performing SP tools (Schultz and Block, 2014), customer
reservation of promotional claims (de Pechpeyrou and Odou, 2012; Odou and de Pechpeyrou,
2011) or difficulty in comprehending the promotion itself (Tan and Bogomolova, 2016).
In the long run successful SP increase sales volume (e.g. Boschetti, 2012; Santini et al.,
2016), positively influence consumer attitudes and perception of quality ( Jones, 2008;
Kwok and Uncles, 2005), increase customer loyalty (Omotayo, 2011; Rizvi and Malik, 2011)
and reduce switching cost (Esteban-Bravo et al., 2009; Omotayo, 2011). Studies have also
examined the effects of SP on consumer response to bundled promotions such as price deals
and promotions, and the use of coupons (e.g. Foubert and Gijsbrechts, 2007; Villarejo-Ramos
and Sánchez-Franco, 2005). While customers appear to enjoy SP, and SPs also provide
benefits to companies (Esteban-Bravo et al., 2009), some researchers have expressed
concerns that SPs suffer from poor planning and implementation, creating differentiation
and lack promotional options (Borges and Babin, 2012; Brito and Hammond, 2007;
Chandon et al., 2000). However, Laran and Tsiros (2013) found that marketing promotion
uncertainty explains some of the customer purchase response variability.
The primary objective of the current study is to examine and compare the influence of
age, education, income, product involvement (PI) and SP characteristics on consumer
examining consumer behaviour and attitude towards SP across culturally diverse countries,
and a number of researchers have called for additional cross-cultural research outside the
western influence (Akram et al., 2018; Stafford et al., 2004). Considering Hofstede’s (1980)
theoretical contribution to the influence of demographic variables, the current state of SP
theory (e.g. Chandon et al., 2000), and the economic growth within the Asia-Pacific, eight
countries were chosen to represent culturally diverse markets in the Asia-Pacific region:
Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand.
Given the general forecast growth in SP, and the concern regarding the value of
discounting, the study is important to marketing academics and practitioners. From an
academic perspective, the study helps identify and better understand the complex
relationships between culture and SP, practitioners will benefit from improved comprehension
of promotion strategies influenced by cultural and diverse customer needs, country-level
factors and cultural adaptation (Cavusgil et al., 1993; Jin and Sternquist, 2003; Kotler, 1986;
McNeill, 2013; Samiee, 1994).
2. Literature review
2.1 Sales promotion characteristics
The American Marketing Association (2017) defined SP as “The media and non-media
marketing pressure applied for a predetermined, limited period of time at the level of
consumer, retailer, or wholesaler in order to stimulate trial, increase consumer demand, or
improve product availability”. SP are considered as any short-term inducement used to
stimulate a desired response from consumers and tend to be used for a predetermined
limited period of time in order to arouse consumers’desires, stimulate interest, encourage
customers to try new products, increase sales or incentivise trade (channel members)
(Ehrenberg et al., 1994; Gilbert and Jackaria, 2002; Ndubisi and Moi, 2005).
SPs are important strategic tools for marketing (Brito and Hammond, 2007; Thaler, 1983;
Liao, 2006; Fam et al., 2011). Successful SPs encourage consumers to purchase new products
while providing additional consumer benefits, such as monetary or non-monetary rewards.
Two important characteristics of SP are reward timing and incentive value. Promotion
timing, in the form of instant –or delayed –rewards, can affect buying behaviour. Monetary
incentives provide short-term economic motivations to consumers while non-monetary
incentives can yield long-term benefits for utilitarian products (Blattberg and Neslin, 1990;
Kwok and Uncles, 2005).
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2.1.1 Sales promotion timing. The SP timing (instant or delayed) aspect can make a
difference to the adoption and use of the SP by consumers. Instant-reward sales promotion
techniques (SPT) include coupons, discounts, point of purchase incentives, premiums,
refunds or free samples. Delayed-reward SPT include advertisements and consumer
contests. A number of studies found that instant-reward SPT provide short-term
revenue for companies and are preferred by consumers (Esteban-Bravo et al., 2009;
Santini et al., 2016; Yang et al., 2010). Ndubisi and Moi (2005) found that delayed rewards
tend not to increase sales revenue in the short term, but yield long-term benefits, via
increased brand promotion and brand reinforcement through entertainment and similar
activities (Chandon et al., 2000; d’Astous et al., 2004; Kwok and Uncles, 2005; Lee, 2002).
Coker et al. (2010) found that consumers value SP timing benefits differently for high and
low-priced products, which helps explain variation in preferences for instant –rather than
delayed –reward SPT. Present or future consumer temporal orientation, and timing of
activities, influences consumer attitudes, actions (including products consumed) and
decision making (Bergadaà, 1990). Aggarwal (2004) found that some brand evaluations are
more positive when a request for help is delayed, compared to an immediate request, which
may help explain consumer valuation of immediate and future benefits.
2.1.2 Sales promotion value. While SP incentives can be monetary or non-monetary,
both help create and enhance brand equity through their positive effect on brand
awareness and information structure (Campbell and Diamond, 1990; Mela et al., 1997;
Palazon-Vidal and Delgado-Ballester, 2005). Monetary incentives include discount
coupons, price discounts and rebates, while non-monetary incentives include tangible or
intangible gifts, presented immediately or post-purchase.
Consumers are primarily interested in monetary incentives for economic reasons, while
non-monetary incentives appeal to emotional needs (Wakefield and Bush, 1998; Weng and
de Run, 2013). However, monetary savings are not the only reason consumers respond to SP
(Iranmanesh et al., 2017). Buil et al. (2013) found that consumers perceive more benefit in
non-monetary promotion when there is a strong perceived fit between the promoted
product, the hedonic nature of the promotion and value expression and entertainment value.
Further, there is a positive link between smart-shopping skills and the use of non-monetary
promotions (Mano and Elliott, 1997). Chandon et al. (2000) found that non-monetary
incentives, such as coupons, help identify and entice consumers with smart-shopping skills
by enhancing their social prestige, personal values and moral obligations.
2.2 Asia-pacific a culturally diverse region
The Asia-Pacific region is home to nearly60 per cent of world’s population (UN ESCAP, 2013).
The region includes seven of the world’s ten most populous countries with culturally diverse
residents (Warner, 2000). Asia-Pacific countries which represent similar yet distinct cultures
with respect to heritage, economic development, religion and collectivism, include China,
Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Thailand and New Zealand (Fam, 2008).
The Asia-Pacific region is a culturally heterogeneous region, shaped by religious and
linguistic forces. In particular, Fam and Waller (2003) found that religious beliefs in the
region influence consumer behaviour in terms of product choices and the community
attachment. New Zealand represents a distinctly western, individualistic and secular society
within the Asia-Pacific region (Hofstede, 1980).
One of the key aspects of effective marketing communication, especially sales
communication, is using appropriate persuasive marketing language. Sales organisations
increasingly use e-mails to promote their products, and since language is a form of social
interaction, the language used influences consumers ability to find meaning in terms of text
and context (Cheung, 2009). Studies have suggested the marketing communication
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challenge is identifying appropriate cultural sensitive terminology, and translating
international brand names and SP for relevant marketing segment in multi-linguistic
countries (Hong et al., 2002; Romaine, 1995). Studies have also identified contradictory
impacts of SP influenced by cultural markets affecting the development and implementation
of SP strategy (e.g. Fam et al., 2008; Vignali, 2001; Yang et al., 2010). Huff and Alden (1998)
found that Malaysian consumers appear to fear embarrassment when using sales coupons,
whereas no such fear existed for Taiwanese consumers. With more than 23 countries
and 14 languages, the Asia-Pacific region represents a diverse cultural environment to
undertake research to better understand cultural impacts on SP for local and global retailers
and sales organisations.
2.3 Involvement and sales promotion
Consumer involvement has been studied at length since Krugman’s (1966) research and
measurement of advertising involvement. Marketing researchers found that consumer
involvement with products and services is associated with perceived risk, information
search behaviour, commitment and brand loyalty, brand switching, advertising and
segmentation (Michaelidou and Dibb, 2008). Involvement level is related to consumer
satisfaction, revisit intentions and increased word-of-mouth ( Josiam et al., 2005). Involved
consumer are found to be more excited, satisfied, curious and impulsive while shopping
than non-involved shoppers (Park et al., 2006).
Laaksonen (1994) categorised customer involvement as: cognitive based, an individual
state and response based, while Zaichkowsky (1985, p. 342) defined involvement as
“aperson’s perceived relevance of the object based on inherent needs, values, and interests”.
According to Michaelidou and Dibb (2008) involvement is an individual variable which
influences consumers’decision making and communication behaviour. The extant research
provides no single accepted definition of involvement, however, there appears to be consensus
that a person’s attitude and level of involvement towards a product, service, phenomenon or
object, is strongly related to personal interest and relevance and helps explains consumer
behaviour (Dholakia, 2001; O’Cass, 2000). The research also suggests that the level of
customer involvement influences processing of promotional messages, consumer behaviour
and interest in specific SPT (DelVecchio et al., 2006; Esteban-Bravo et al., 2009; Jones, 2008;
Laurent and Kapferer, 1985).
Although few marketing studies have investigated the effect of involvement across
cultures, Cochrane and Quester (2005), studying Australians and Malaysians, found no
significant differences between the effect of involvement on attitude towards the brand or
the attitude towards a fear appeal advertisement. To better understand the appeal of
different advertisements Cochrane and Quester suggested further research to examine and
compare the effect of consumer involvement between cultures. In general, the involvement
research suggests that involvement level may influence attitude towards SP, subsequent
consumer behaviour and SP uptake.
2.4 Demographics and sales promotion
Generally considered control factors (or moderators) in marketing research, age, education
and income (demographic factors) are useful predictors of SP uptake (Hansen et al., 2013;
Lee et al., 2012). Specific profile characteristics appear to distinguish deal-prone or price-
sensitive consumers. For instance, studies investigating the effect of demographics on SP
found that education level, knowledge and expertise (e.g. human capital) positively
influenced consumption (Kwon and Kwon, 2007; Ratchford, 2001). However, the research
literature does not provide consistent results as to which segment is more promotion
prone. Utility theory suggests a trade-off between redemption cost (e.g. time and energy)
and monetary savings, with low income and education being more promotion prone
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(Blattberg and Neslin, 1990). Whereas, Kwon and Kwon (2007) found high-income earners
more likely to take advantage of SP.
Researchers also found positive interactions between shopping enjoyment and gender,
with females more influenced by promotions, and males less influenced by promotions, but
persuaded more by functional criteria (Harmon and Hill, 2003; Henry, 2002; Williams, 2002).
Age and income appear to significantly affect the attitude towards SP and consumer
purchase decision making (Creusen, 2010; Khare et al., 2014; Narayana and Raju, 1985;
Rosa-Diaz, 2004). Older consumers tend to accumulate and use knowledge of prices, and
hence, are more likely to seek discount promotions. High-income consumers, with high
discretionary income, on the other hand, are less influenced by discount promotions
(Lee et al., 2012; McNeill, 2013).
Since the research examining demographic factors demonstrate inconsistent outcomes,
researchers continue to call for additional research in an attempt to better understand and
explain the results (Lee et al., 2012).
2.5 Country influence on sales promotion
Entering and conducting business in foreign countries can be difficult; it is not unusual for
organisations to commit business and cultural mistakes when operating in foreign
environments. Such misunderstandings may manifest themselves as errors in adaption,
name use, promotion activities, translation, strategy and/or market research (Ricks, 1983).
Marketing mistakes by new entrants may be due to differences in cultural values, highly
saturated competitive markets and/or more experienced consumers (Irem Eren et al., 2010;
Lowe and Corkindale, 1998; Yang et al., 2010). Consideration must be given to cultural
boundaries when applying theories from individualistic society into collectivist society
(e.g. North America and Asia). For example, Iyengar and Lepper (1999), as well as McNeill
(2013), found that with appropriate modification theories developed in western societies,
such as cognitive dissonance theory and attribution theory, may be applied in both
individualist and collectivist societies. A number of researchers have suggested that
additional research and better understanding of cultural influence on consumer attitude
may help identify the suitability of SPTs within different countries (Culter et al., 2000;
Fam and Merrilees, 1998; Foxman et al., 1988; Jee and de Run, 2013; Jeon and Beatty, 2002;
Kwok and Uncles, 2005; Nickerson and Hoeken, 2003; Waller and Fam, 2000).
The purpose of this research is to compare and contrast differences in SP preferences
between eight countries. The research questions examine customer preference for SP (and
specific SPT) in cultural dissimilar environments in order to better understand the benefits
and influence of SP characteristics on consumer attitudes and SP uptake (see Figure 1).
The research questions are as follows:
RQ1. What is the influence of country (culture) on SPT preference and attitude towards SP?
RQ2. Do timing characteristics of SP influence attitude towards SP?
RQ3. Do value characteristics of SP influence attitude towards SP?
RQ4. Does PI influence attitude towards SP in cultural dissimilar environments?
RQ5. Do demographics influence attitude towards SP in cultural dissimilar
environments?
3. Methodology
The data used in this study to rank the SPT and estimate the attitude towards SPT were
collected from Hong Kong, China (Guangzhou, Shanghai and Wuhan), Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand. Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia are
Consumer
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Muslim majority countries, where Islam strictly prohibits games of chance, and SPs such as
sweepstakes, contests and lucky draws (Binde, 2007; Ministry of Endowments and Islamic
Affairs, 2016). China is an atheist society, with a growing number of practising Christians,
Taoists and Buddhists. To reflect the diverse representation of mainland China this study
included three key cities; Guangzhou (a key manufacturing base and richest city in
Mainland Chine per capita), Shanghai (most populous and wealthiest city in China) and
Wuhan (main transportation hub, high-tech, education and financial centre) (HKTDC
Research, 2018). Hong Kong, being a former British colony and Special Administrative
Region of the People’s Republic of China, has a free-market economy, highly dependent on
international trade and finance, with a population mixture of different religions and values,
and is considered a separate country from Mainland China for the analysis. Singapore is a
global financial centre with a highly developed and successful free-market economy
consisting of a multicultural population with a high proportion of Chinese, and lesser
numbers of Malays, and Indians. Thailand is a Buddhist nation with a relatively well-
developed infrastructure, and free-enterprise economy. New Zealand is predominantly an
Anglo Saxon country with an industrialised, free market economy that can compete globally
(CIA, 2018). These countries exhibit different values, religious beliefs, languages and level of
economics development. According to Fam (2008) these economic and cultural differences
influence consumers’preference for advertising messages.
The data collected from four versions of the survey and four different research teams
were aggregated for analysis. Two surveys were administered by mail and two through
face-to-face interviews; Table I indicates the survey used in each location and the respective
sample sizes. The questionnaires used for mainland China and Hong Kong were translated
into Chinese by employing back-translation techniques to ensure meaning was as close as
possible to the original.
The data for Guangzhou, Hong Kong (MVA), Shanghai and Wuhan were collected using
mall intercept survey, a relatively inexpensive method to collect individual personal,
accurate, high quality data (Ducoffe, 1995; Jackson et al., 2011; Rice and Hancock, 2005).
Every third person walking past the researcher was asked to participate in the survey.
Refusal by the potential respondent resulted in intercepting the next potential respondent
until a respondent agreed to participate in the survey. After a positive response, the
intercept process returned to every third respondent. The interviews were undertaken from
mid-afternoon until 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday over two weekends.
Demographics
• Gender
• Age
• Education
• Occupation
• Income (annual)
Sales Promotion
Techniques
• Advertisement
• Contest
• Coupons
• Discount
• Point of Purchase
• Premiums
• Refunds
• Samples
• SPT Preference
• Attitude towards
SPT
• Product Involvement
• Timing
• Value
Country
Figure 1.
Proposed research
model
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The data for Hong Kong were collected using the same mall intercept technique between
3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on one Saturday. New Zealand data were collected from a random sample
of 2,000 individuals selected from the NZ postal service database. The New Zealand
response rate was 13.7 per cent.
Mail surveys were randomly sent to 550 university student parents to collect data from
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. University students voluntarily
agreed to participate in the research by providing the contact details for their respective
parents. Parents were considered a better sample than university students, since they were
more likely to be employed, have more experience with a higher number and variety of SPs,
and more likely to have considered or used an SP recently. The survey was then sent to the
parents who were asked to respond anonymously or opt-out. The completed survey
response rates were Brunei (93.3 per cent), Indonesia (90.0 per cent), Malaysia (91.1 per cent),
Singapore (45.5 per cent) and Thailand (84.4 per cent).
The survey consisted of two sections, the first section had each participant: rank a list of
common SP (1 ¼least preferred and 5 ¼most preferred); provide information on a recent
purchase (product, brand, price and the SPT used); and indicate their attitude towards the
SPT used in that purchase on a six-item six-point semantic differential scale. The survey
items are shown in Appendix.
The research literature identifies a number of SPT developed primarily in the North
American and European markets. Although the SPT list was slightly different between the
four survey instruments, and varied from 8 to 18 items, all of the technique lists were
constructed from recent marketing and advertising textbooks (Yang et al., 2010). Table II
shows the final compiled list of eight aggregated SPT used for ranking sales promotion
technique in the data analysis.
The second section of the survey asked for demographic information, including gender,
marital status, education, occupation and income level. The dependent variables are the
SPT, and the attitude towards the sales promotion technique. Independent variables
included country, age, education, PI (high/low) and SPT used on last recalled purchase
(USPT). The data were analysed using SPSS version 18.
Method Location/Country Frequency % Location/Country Frequency %
Mail survey 1 Brunei 513 11.7 Brunei 513 11.7
New Zealand 274 6.3 China 1,158 26.5
Mail survey 2 Indonesia 495 11.3 Hong Kong 720 16.5
Malaysia 501 11.5 Indonesia 495 11.3
Singapore 250 5.7 Malaysia 501 11.5
Thailand 464 10.6 New Zealand 274 5.7
Intercept survey 1 Hong Kong (MVA) 300 6.9 Singapore 250 6.3
Hong Kong 420 9.6 Thailand 464 10.6
Intercept survey 2 Guangzhou, China 318 7.3
Shanghai, China 420 9.6
Wuhan, China 420 9.6
Total 4,375 100.0 Total 4,375 100.0
Table I.
Survey method and
sample sizes for
each location and
country summary
Advertisement Point of purchase (PoP)
Contests (includes sweepstakes and games) Premiums (incl. gifts, patronage and novelties)
Coupons (incl. web and mobile) Refunds (incl. cash, rebates and trade-ins)
Discounts (incl. trade-in and price packs) Samples (incl. tie-ins)
Table II.
List of eight sales
promotion techniques
from the survey data
used in the analysis
(RSPT)
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4. Results
The compiled data set sample consisted of 4,375 responses, however, Singapore respondents
did not provide ranking data, and therefore only 4,125 responses were used in the ranking
analysis. Table I shows the location and country sample sizes. The respondents were fairly
evenly distributed with respect to gender (female ¼54.9 per cent and male ¼44.8 per cent;
seven participants did not answer the question). Marital status of the sample included
45.5 per cent married, 38.4 per cent single, 1.4 per cent divorced, 0.3 per cent indicated other
and 14.4 per cent did not provide a status.
Table III shows that across the seven countries (Hong Kong listed separately)
46.4 per cent of respondents have an annual income greater than NZ$20,000, with the
majority employed in a professional capacity (38.3 per cent). Indonesia, Malaysia and
Thailand report more than 90 per cent of respondents have an annual income less than
NZ$40,000. The annual income and prices reported by the respondents were converted into
New Zealand currency across all countries.
% Brunei China
Hong
Kong Indonesia Malaysia
New
Zealand Singapore Thailand Average
Gender
Male 47.6 51.0 48.6 51.3 52.1 24.8 44.4 38.8 44.8
Female 52.4 49.0 51.4 48.7 47.9 73.4 55.6 60.8 54.9
Age
Under 25 15.0 0.3 4.9 31.5 38.1 16.4 14.4 31.3 19.0
25–34 46.2 47.8 31.9 33.9 15.8 43.8 52.4 20.3 36.5
35–44 33.5 27.4 26.1 20.6 14.8 28.5 28.0 23.7 25.3
45–55 5.1 24.1 30.0 11.5 23.4 0.0 4.0 18.5 14.6
Over 56 0.2 0.4 7.1 2.4 7.6 10.6 1.2 5.4 4.4
Education
Primary school 0.4 25.9 9.9 0.6 12.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.2
Secondary school 25.9 46.6 58.6 61.6 58.5 0.0 26.4 19.8 37.2
Tertiary 73.7 72.5 31.5 37.8 25.9 0.0 73.2 79.3 49.2
Occupation
Professional 80.1 30.5 23.9 37.6 18.2 73.4 43.2 0.0 38.3
Employed (not
professional) 9.0 53.5 50.6 21.6 18.0 15.3 26.0 0.0 24.2
Own business 0.8 7.3 2.9 3.0 6.8 0.4 11.6 0.0 4.1
Student 3.5 2.5 4.6 32.3 33.3 0.0 12.4 0.0 11.1
Unemployed 0.6 5.7 14.6 1.4 0.0 3.6 4.8 0.0 3.8
Other 0.6 0.5 3.5 1.6 13.0 6.6 1.2 0.0 3.4
Annual income (NZ$)
No income 6.2 1.9 15.3 25.9 32.1 0.0 13.6 7.8 12.8
Less than $20,000 26.1 39.0 22.4 65.7 59.7 12.0 21.2 80.6 40.8
$20,000–$29,999 36.3 8.7 15.4 1.6 5.8 16.1 20.0 4.7 13.6
$30,000–$39,999 18.3 7.3 19.9 2.0 0.8 11.3 17.2 0.2 9.6
$40,000–$49,999 5.3 9.2 10.4 0.0 0.0 12.0 13.6 0.6 6.4
$50,000–$69,999 3.3 12.0 4.9 0.4 0.4 16.4 8.0 0.2 5.7
$70,000–$100,000 2.5 11.4 6.7 0.4 0.0 19.7 2.0 0.2 5.4
More than
$100,000 0.2 10.4 1.5 0.2 0.2 9.9 1.2 0.4 3.0
Notes: The columns are the percentages by country. The “Average”column indicates the overall percentage
across countries
Table III.
Demographic
information
by country
(in percentages)
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The majority of respondents are in the 25–34 age group (36.5 per cent), while 49.2 per cent
have indicated some level of tertiary education. Table III shows that across the
seven countries (Hong Kong listed separately) 46.4 per cent of respondents have an annual
income greater than NZ$20,000, with the majority employed in a professional capacity
(38.3 per cent). Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand report more than 90 per cent of
respondents have an annual income less than NZ$40,000. The annual income and prices
reported by the respondents have been converted into New Zealand currency across all
countries for comparison and consistency purposes.
4.1 Sales promotion technique ranking results
The analysis across all countries in the study indicate that discounts are the preferred SPT
overall (chosen 3,514 times in the top 5 preferences with 1,305 number 1 rankings), followed
by premiums (3,256 times with 764 number 1 rankings) and refunds (2,798 times but with
only 351 number 1 rankings). Advertisements (e.g. advertising specials) have the lowest
overall total (1,855) and the least number of first preferences (112) making it the least
popular SPT. Table IV shows the ranking frequencies.
SPT ranked by country indicates that Brunei and Indonesia respondents prefer Coupons
(see Table V), whereas the other countries prefer discounts. Considering the overall
rankings by country, premiums are chosen most within the top five SPTs (with a count of 7),
followed by coupons and discounts (6), samples (5), refunds (4) and contests (3).
To further investigate the effect of country on SPT preferences, a Kruskal–Wallis
ANOVA was undertaken and indicated a significant difference between countries and each
of the SP ranking. To identify the sources of significance, a series of Mann–Whitney U-test
were undertaken, with Bonferroni adjusted alpha (α¼0.007). Table VI highlights
the specific significant differences in SPT ranking between the countries. In summary, the
Preferences
Sales promotion technique 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Total
Discounts 1,305 562 1,062 268 317 3,514
Premiums 764 754 1,119 361 258 3,256
Refunds 351 484 1,010 491 462 2,798
Samples 540 529 1,087 360 252 2,768
Coupons 520 442 909 460 389 2,720
Contest 271 297 1,345 244 243 2,400
Point of purchase 186 241 1,229 278 221 2,155
Advertisements 112 203 1,148 226 166 1,855
Table IV.
Ranked sales
promotion technique
preference by
frequency of ranking
Ranked sales promotion technique by country
Country 1st x2nd x3rd x4th x5th x
Brunei Coupons 2.56 POP 2.61 Premium 2.74 Contests 2.81 Samples 2.83
China Discount 2.14 Premium 2.48 Samples 2.60 Contests 2.93 Advert 3.04
Hong Kong Discount 2.46 Premium 2.53 Samples 2.58 Contests 2.83 Coupon 2.86
Indonesia Coupons 2.29 Premium 2.43 Adverts 2.78 Discounts 2.85 Refund 2.89
Malaysia Discount 2.21 Premium 2.65 Coupon 2.82 Refund 2.86 Samples 3.01
New Zealand Discount 1.19 Coupon 2.58 Premium 2.91 Refund 2.91 POP 2.99
Thailand Discount 2.58 Samples 2.67 Premium 2.75 Coupon 2.75 Refund 2.76
Notes: 1¼1st preferred; 5 ¼5th preferred
Table V.
Ranked sales
promotion technique
preference by country
Consumer
attitude
towards SPT
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Kruskal–Wallis Advertised specials Contests Coupons Discounts Point of purchase Premiums Refunds Samples
χ
2
183.0 251.1 526.2 638.8 170.3 380.9 431.8 355.1
df 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
po0.001 o0.001 o0.001 o0.001 o0.001 o0.001 o0.001 o0.001
Country Mann–Whitney U rank order test
Brunei x2.87
c, g
2.81
b, e, f
2.56
b, c
3.13
b, c, e, f, g
2.61
b, c, d, e, g
2.74
d
2.91
b
2.83
f
N214 251 330 308 157 356 373 151
SD 1.23 1.42 1.48 1.53 1.29 1.39 1.27 1.50
China x3.04
d, g
2.93
a, e, f
3.23
a, c, d, e, f, g
2.14
a, c, d, e, f, g
3.08
a
2.48
f, g
3.36
a, c, d, e, g
2.60
d, e, f
N840 1004 1081 1153 970 1070 991 957
SD 0.74 0.83 1.12 0.97 0.85 0.97 1.09 0.95
Hong Kong x3.15
a, d, g
2.83
d, e, f, g
2.86
a, b, d
2.46
a, b, d, f
3.11
a
2.53 3.06
b, g
2.58
d, e, f
N478 510 621 674 458 648 633 594
SD 0.73 0.82 1.17 1.04 0.58 1.12 1.22 1.00
Indonesia x2.78
b, c, e, g
3.06
c
2.29
b, c, e, g
2.85
b, c, e, f
3.31
a
2.43
a, f, g
2.89
b
2.93
b, c, f
N99 139 168 397 80 396 288 352
SD 1.07 1.23 1.42 1.63 1.39 1.34 1.24 1.39
Malaysia x3.26
d
3.20
a, b, c
2.82
b, d
2.21
a, c, d, f, g
3.06
a
2.65 2.86
b
3.01
b, c, f, g
N96 222 154 393 213 362 251 333
SD 1.28 1.30 1.52 1.41 1.37 1.29 1.38 1.37
New Zealand x–3.28
a, b, c
2.58
b
1.19
a, b, c, d, e, g
2.99 2.91
b, d
2.91 3.92
a, b, c, d, e, f
N–78 119 240 138 85 32 50
SD –1.23 1.20 0.64 1.26 1.33 1.38 1.01
Thailand x3.37
a, b, c, d
3.11
c
2.75
b, d
2.58
a, b, e, f
3.07
a
2.75
b, d
2.76
b, c
2.67
e, f
N128 196 247 349 139 339 230 331
SD 1.25 1.29 1.44 1.43 1.27 1.31 1.31 1.33
Total x3.07 2.95 2.91 2.35 3.05 2.57 3.08 2.73
N1,855 2,400 2,720 3,514 2,155 3,256 2,798 2,768
SD 0.91 1.04 1.29 1.29 1.00 1.19 1.23 1.18
Notes:
a
Brunei significantly different;
b
China significantly different;
c
Hong Kong significantly different;
d
Indonesia significantly different;
e
Malaysia significantly
different;
f
New Zealand significantly different;
g
Thailand significantly different. 1 ¼Most preferred; 5 ¼Least preferred. Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA; Mann–Whitney U-
rank order test, comparing each pair of countries, with Bonferroni adjusted α(α¼0.007). All significant differences at po0.05
Table VI.
Sales promotion
technique mean rank
by country
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relationship between countries and individual STP ranking indicates that amongst the eight
countries the discount SPT is most preferred (x¼2.35, SD ¼1.29), and refunds are least
preferred (x¼3.08, SD ¼1.23).
4.1.1 Rank by age and income. The overall SPT ranking by age has discounts being
ranked first preference for all age groups (x¼2.35, SD ¼1.29). The least preferred SPT varies
between age groups; advertisements are least preferred for the under 25 (x¼3.18, SD ¼1.32),
and over 56 age groups (x¼3.42, SD ¼1.36), and refunds are least preferred for the 25–34
(x¼3.11, SD ¼1.25), 35–44 (x¼3.10, SD ¼1.20) and 45–55 (x¼3.20, SD ¼1.15) age groups.
The overall SPT ranking by income level also has discounts (x¼2.35, SD ¼1.29) ranked
first, however, the no income group ranked premiums first (x¼2.55, SD ¼1.29) by a small
margin. The least preferred SPT is refunds for the $20k–$30k, $30k–40k, $50k–$70k,
$70k–$100k and more than $100k income groups (x¼3.08, SD ¼1.23). The no income and
less than $20k groups least preferred advertisement, while the $40k–$50k group least
preferred point of purchase (x¼3.23, SD ¼1.01).
4.2 Factors affecting the attitude to sales promotion
The influence of location and country, product categories and PI was investigated with
respect to attitude to SP. The attitude to SP construct consisted of five items (Cronbach’s
α¼0.72, Variance explained ¼70.6 per cent), the poor-excellent item was deleted due to
poor loading, which did not appear to radically alter the definition. The higher the mean the
more favourable respondents are towards SP (1 ¼least favourable, 6 ¼most favourable),
a mean less than 2.5 would signify an unfavourable attitude towards SP, while a mean
greater than 2.5 indicates a favourable attitude.
A one sample t-test was used to compare the overall attitude towards SP (x¼4.43,
SD ¼0.90) against the neutral point of 2.5. The difference of 1.93, 95% CI [1.91, 1.96], above
the neutral point was found to be significant t(4,307) ¼141.64, po0.001, and large, d¼2.16
(Cohen, 1988), indicating a significant overall positive attitude to SPs.
4.2.1 Country and location influence. Location and country have a significant effect on
the attitude towards SP. One-way between groups ANOVA was used to investigate the
impact that location and country had on the attitude towards SP. The ANOVA was
statistically significant, indicating that the respondent’s attitude towards SP were
influenced by the country they lived in, F(7, 4,300) ¼257.66, po0.001, η
2
¼0.30.
Post hoc analysis with Tukey’sHSD(usinganαof 0.05) revealed five distinct and
significantly different country groupings; Brunei; SW Asia (consisting of China, Singapore, and
Thailand); Hong Kong; Indo-Malay (Indonesia and Malaysia); and New Zealand (see Table VII).
The differences between country groups indicate that Brunei (x¼3.59, SD ¼0.33) and
Indo-Malay (x¼4.94, SD ¼0.79); Indo-Malay and New Zealand (x¼3.24, S D ¼0.35);
Country N x SD Country groups xSD
Brunei 513 3.59 0.33 Brunei 3.59 0.33
China 1,158 4.52 0.77
Singapore 250 4.75 0.67 SW Asia 4.57 0.79
Thailand 429 4.61 0.90
Hong Kong 720 4.39 0.90 Hong Kong 4.39 0.90
Indonesia 495 4.95 0.81 Indo-Malay 4.94 0.79
Malaysia 498 4.93 0.78
New Zealand 245 3.24 0.35 New Zealand 3.24 0.35
Total 4,308 4.43 0.90
Notes: 1¼least favourable; 6 ¼most favourable. Missing data New Zealand 29; Thailand 35
Table VII.
Mean attitude towards
sales promotion
technique by country
and defined
country group
Consumer
attitude
towards SPT
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Brunei and SW Asia (x¼4.57, SD ¼0.79); and SW Asia and New Zealand have large significant
effects, d¼1.01, 0.97, 0.80 and 0.79, respectively (Cohen, 1988).
Comparing attitude towards SP results between countries, indicate that Indonesia (x¼4.95,
SD ¼0.81) and Malaysia (x¼4.93, SD ¼0.78) have the most favourable attitude towards SP,
while New Zealand (x¼3.24, SD ¼0.35) has the least favourable attitude towards SP.
To control for SPT preferences of individuals between countries, a factorial between
groups ANOVA was used to compare the attitude towards SPT by the individual SPT
USPT by country. The main effect of country on attitude towards USPT was statistically
significant, F(7, 3,120) ¼36.55, po0.001. There is no main effect between USPT and
attitude towards SPT, F(8, 3,120) ¼0.87, p¼0.539. There is a significant interactive effect
between country and USPT, F(44, 3,120) ¼2.41, po0.001. Table VIII depicts the significant
interactions between country and USPT using a Bonferroni adjusted α(α¼0.007).
It is noteworthy that although discounts are the most widely individually used promotion
technique overall, there are significantly differences in the attitude towards discounts by
country. The results indicate that Brunei and New Zealand, even when controlling for the
type of SP, have the least positive attitude to SP.
4.2.2 Age and income. ANOVA used to investigate age influence on respondents’attitude
to SP was statistically significant indicating that the respondents’attitude towards SP were
influenced by age, F(4, 4,296) ¼37.23, po0.001. However, the effect is small, η
2
¼0.04
(Cohen, 1988). Post hoc analysis with Tukey’s HSD revealed that except for the 25–34 and over
56 age groups, all other age groups differed significantly from each other (po0.05).
In particular, the under 25 years of age group (x¼4.55, SD ¼0.94) had a significantly less
positive attitude towards SP than the 45–55 year group (x¼4.70, SD ¼0.86, d¼0.10), and a
significantly more positive attitude than the 25–34 (x¼4.28, SD ¼0.83, d¼0.21), 35–44
(x¼4.43, SD ¼0.92, d¼0.08), or over 56 year (x¼4.18, SD ¼0.99, d¼0.14) groups, although
as indicated the effects (d) are small.
Of particular interest is the significant interaction of country and age on respondents’
attitude towards SP (see Figure 2). The statistical significant interaction indicates that the effects
of age on attitude to SP depends on the country of the respondent, F(27, 4,262) ¼3.91, po0.001,
partial η
2
¼0.02. Simple effects analyses indicated that age has a statistically significant effect
on attitude towards SP respondents from China, F(4, 4,262) ¼26.13, po0.001, Hong Kong,
F(4, 4,262) ¼12.53, po0.001 and Singapore, F(4, 4,262) ¼3.79, p¼0.004.
In China, favourable attitude towards SP increases over age, but decreases significantly
in the over 56-year of age group. The 25–34 years of age group (x¼4.31, SD ¼0.69) is
significantly less positive towards SP than the 35–44 (x¼4.67, SD ¼0.83, d¼0.41) and
45–55 (x¼4.80, SD ¼0.72, d¼0.54) year groups. The over 56-years of age group (x¼3.87,
SD ¼0.29) is significantly less positive than the 45–55 year group (x¼4.80, SD ¼0.72,
d¼0.16). Hong Kong respondents indicate a similar trend, with the over 56-years
of age group (x¼3.77, SD ¼0.79) significantly less favourable towards SP than the 25–34
(x¼4.37, SD ¼0.86, d¼0.33), 35–44 (x¼4.49, SD ¼0.87, d¼0.39) or the 45–55 (x¼4.50,
SD ¼0.91, d¼0.40) age groups. The results from Singapore show a similar positive age
group trend, with the 45–55 age group (x¼5.38, SD ¼0.57) significantly more positive
towards SP than the 25–34 age group (x¼4.62, SD ¼0.62, d¼0.45).
The tertiary educated respondents (x¼4.49, SD ¼0.88) reported being significantly
more positive towards SP than respondents with a secondary education (x¼4.61,
SD ¼0.89), F(2, 3,722) ¼8.37, po0.001. Primary level education appeared not to make any
significant difference with respect to attitude towards SP.
ANOVA used to investigate income influence on respondents’attitude to SP was
statistically significant, indicating that the respondents’attitude towards SP was influenced
by income, F(7, 4,205) ¼45.73, po0.001. This is considered a medium size effect η
2
¼0.071.
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Country Advertised specials Contests Coupons Discounts Point of purchase Premiums Refunds Samples
Brunei x3.51
b, d, e, g, h
3.83 3.25
b, c, d, e
3.53
b, c, d, e, f, g, h
3.65 3.60
b, d, e, g, h
3.72
d
3.50
d, e, g
N17 7 8 219 4 33 5 6
SD 0.29 0.18 0.18 0.33 0.10 0.32 0.18 0.42
China x4.85
a
4.59 4.58
a, f
4.25
a, d, e, f, g, h
4.65
c
4.46
a, c, d, e
4.57
f
4.49
N11 18 56 445 34 60 29 25
SD 0.76 0.99 0.79 0.65 0.89 1.16 0.63 1.03
Hong Kong x4.28 3.90 4.53
a, f
4.17
a, d, e, f, g, h
3.31
b, e, g
3.95
b, d, e, g, h
4.81
f
4.51
N5 6 15 279 9 63 15 11
SD 0.59 0.17 0.79 0.93 0.46 1.08 0.68 0.85
Indonesia x4.81
a
4.80 5.22
a, f
5.01
a, b, c, f, g, h
5.30 5.14
a, b, c
5.09
a, f
4.79
a
N70 9 13 218 2 76 17 80
SD 0.69 0.71 0.66 0.82 0.99 0.62 1.04 0.81
Malaysia x4.82
a
4.80 4.53
a, f
4.99
a, b, c, f, h
4.75
c
4.96
a, b, c
5.20
f
4.96
a
N35 1 14 296 48 72 3 20
SD 0.86 –0.80 0.75 0.97 0.73 0.20 0.72
New Zealand x––3.21
b, c, d, e
3.24
a, b, c, d, e, g, h
––2.87
d, e, g
–
N––16 199 ––4–
SD ––0.33 0.35 ––0.09 –
Singapore x4.75
a
4.80 3.53 4.76
a, b, c, d, f
5.00
c
4.77
a, c
3.80 4.89
a
N21 4 3 125 4 62 2 9
SD 1.05 0.00 1.27 0.64 0.46 0.61 0.00 0.32
Thailand x4.59
a
4.53 –4.57
a, b, c, d, e, f
4.30 4.86
a, c
4.53 4.48
N82 3 –130 2 59 3 5
SD 0.92 0.50 –0.92 0.14 0.79 0.76 1.27
Total x4.63 4.45 4.35 4.31 4.56 4.63 4.59 4.69
N241 48 125 1911 103 425 78 156
SD 0.88 0.77 0.93 0.91 0.97 0.95 0.88 0.86
Notes:
a
Brunei significantly different;
b
China significantly different;
c
Hong Kong significantly different;
d
Indonesia significantly different;
e
Malaysia significantly
different;
f
New Zealand significantly different;
g
Singapore significantly different;
h
Thailand significantly different 1 ¼Least positive attitude; 6 ¼Most positive attitude.
One-way ANOVA comparing each pair of countries, with Bonferroni adjusted α(α¼0.007)
Table VIII.
Interaction of sales
promotion mean
attitude by individual
sales promotion
technique used on last
recalled purchase
(USPT) by country
Consumer
attitude
towards SPT
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Post hoc analysis revealed that the no income group (x¼4.70, SD ¼0.88) and the less than
$20k group (x¼4.63, SD ¼0.87) were significantly more positive towards SP than all other
income groups. The $20k–$30k group (x¼4.07, SD ¼0.81) is significantly less positive
towards SP than the $30k–$40k group (x¼4.25, SD ¼0.83) and the more than $100k group
(x¼4.35, SD ¼0.89). The significant interaction effect of country and income on the
respondents’attitude towards SP F(45, 4,153) ¼2.50, po0.001, partial η
2
¼0.026, indicates
that income has a statistically significant effect on SP attitude in China F(7, 4,153) ¼11.50,
po0.001, Hong Kong F(7, 4,153) ¼2.52, p¼0.014 and Singapore F(7, 4,153) ¼2.22,
p¼0.030, but not in the other countries. This interaction effect is not consistent between
countries and income levels (see Figure 3).
Mainland Chinese respondents in the more than $100k income group favour SP
significantly more than other income groups, while Singapore respondents in the no income
group are more positive towards SP. Hong Kong respondents in the no income group
indicated the least positive attitude towards SP.
Attitude towards sales promotion
Age
Brunei
China
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Malaysia
New Zealan
d
Singapore
Thailand
Under 25
3.00
3.50
4.00
4.50
5.00
5.50
25–34 35–44 45–55 Over 56
Figure 2.
Mean attitude towards
sales promotion by
country and age
4.10
4.20
4.30
4.40
4.50
4.60
4.70
4.80
4.90
5.00
5.10
5.20
5.30
5.40
5.50
5.60
5.70
No
income
Less than
$20,000
$20,000–
$29,999
$30,000–
$39,999
$40,000–
$49,999
$50,000–
$69,999
$70,000–
$100,000
More
than
$100,000
Attitude towards sales promotion
Income levels (NZ$)
China
Hong Kong
Singapore
Figure 3.
Significant country
and income interaction
effect on attitude
towards sales
promotion
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4.2.3 Product categories and product price. Each recollected purchase identified by a survey
participant was assigned to a product category (see Table IX). ANOVA was used to
investigate product categories influence on respondents’attitude to SP. The respondent’s
attitude towards SP was significantly influenced by product category, F(9, 4,234) ¼19.35,
po0.001. However, the effect is small, η
2
¼0.04. Post hoc analysis revealed that the attitude
towards SP was significantly more positive for apparel (x¼4.57, SD ¼0.86) than furniture
and appliances (x¼3.92, SD ¼0.87, d¼0.30), household goods (x¼4.24, SD ¼0.90, d¼0.17),
personal goods (x¼3.48, SD ¼0.46, d¼0.15) or food (x¼4.13, SD ¼0.95, d¼0.21).
ANOVA results indicate that respondents who purchased lower priced products
were more positive towards SP than those who purchased higher priced products,
F(5, 4,192) ¼6.21, po0.001. Post hoc analysis revealed that the attitude towards SP was
significantly less positive for purchases between $2,000 and $19,999 (x¼4.57, SD ¼0.86)
and all purchases below $2,000; less than $100 (x¼4.48, SD ¼0.90), $100–$499 (x¼4.43,
SD ¼0.87), $500–$999 (x¼4.34, SD ¼0.82) or $1,000–$1,999 (x¼4.41, SD ¼1.01).
4.2.4 Product involvement. Table IX lists the mean attitude towards SP by product
categories, and reported product category frequency, as provided by the respondent
information. PI refers to the personal relevance and the general level of interest in a product or
product category and is a key moderator of purchase decisions (Zaichkowsky, 1994). High PI
tends to involve low frequency, high price, high risk purchase, invoking higher cognitive
processes to evaluate the product for purchase, while low PI includes “force of habit”, low risk
purchases and appears to invokemore superficial methods of evaluation and product analysis
(Gu et al., 2012; Holmes et al., 2014; Ministry of Economic Development, 2000).
As an indicator of PI a high/low dummy variable was created based on the perceived
cognitive processing required to purchase the product within each category and price
(as an indicator of relative risk) (Laurent and Kapferer, 1985; Willis, 2004). As Sun (2010)
found in their study of PI and trivial attributes, higher priced products tends to attract
more attention and involvement from consumers. Considering product category, and the
PI criteria listed above, for purposes of this study products identified as high risk, low
purchase frequency and costing more than $2,000 was considered high involvement, while
low involvement consisted of products with little perceived cognitive processing
requirements, considered frequent (habitual purchase) and low risk (e.g. cost less than
$100, depending on the product).
To investigate whether PI influences the attitude towards SP in general the dummy
variable high/low PI, was created as a PI proxy by aggregating the high involvement
Product category N x SD
Apparel 1,266 4.56 0.87
Personal electronics 1,158 4.43 0.87
Health and cosmetics 476 4.61 0.84
Household goods 316 4.29 0.91
Other 278 4.32 0.87
Food 248 4.15 0.96
Furniture and appliances 242 3.99 0.88
Jewellery and accessories 156 4.49 0.87
Personal goods 56 4.57 0.92
Books, magazines and stationery 28 4.23 0.96
Vehicle or parts 20 4.47 0.96
Total 4,244 4.43 0.89
Notes: x,1¼least favourable; 6 ¼most favourable
Table IX.
Mean attitude towards
sales promotion by
product categories
purchased
Consumer
attitude
towards SPT
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items into the High PI dummy variable, while the low involvement items were aggregated
into the Low PI dummy variable. Products categorised as “Other”were not included in the
PI calculations.
A one-way between groups ANOVA result was statistically significant, indicating that
the respondent’s PI significantly influenced their attitude towards SP, F(1, 3,839) ¼10.06,
p¼0.002. However, the effect is small, η
2
¼0.003. The results indicate that respondents who
purchase low involvement products (x¼4.46, SD ¼0.89, n¼3528) have a significantly more
positive attitude towards SP than respondents who purchased high involvement products
(x¼4.29, SD ¼0.97, n¼313).
4.2.5 Influence of sales promotion timing and value. The SP were categorised according
to timing of the promotional offer (instant or delayed) and value (monetary or non-monetary)
in order to investigate whether these characteristics influence the respondents’attitude
towards SPT (see Table X).
The ANOVA was statistically significant, indicating that the respondent’s attitude
towards SPT was influenced by timing, F(1, 3,085) ¼8.11, p¼0.004. However, the effect is
small, η
2
¼0.002. Respondents who reported a preference for delayed SPT (x¼4.55,
SD ¼0.88) had a significantly more positive attitude towards SPT than those reporting a
preference for instant SPT (x¼4.40, SD ¼0.93).
ANOVA was used to investigate the influence of SP value on respondents’attitude to
SPT [1]. The ANOVA was not statistically significant, indicating that the respondent’s
attitude towards SPT was not influenced by the monetary (x¼4.56, SD ¼0.92) or non-
monetary value (x¼4.61, SD ¼0.90), F(1, 2,557) ¼1.19, p¼0.275.
4.2.6 Country, product category, product involvement, timing, and value interactions.A
factorial between groups ANOVA was conducted to investigate the interaction of country,
product category, PI, SP timing (instant or delayed) and SP value (monetary or non-
monetary)[2] on respondents’attitude towards SP. There was no statistical significant
interaction between country and product category, F(14, 1,503) ¼1.27, p¼0.219; country
and PI, F(1, 1,503) ¼1.02, p¼0.312; or country and promotion timing, F(6, 1,503) ¼1.47,
p¼0.185 on attitude to SP.
A statistical significant interaction indicates that the effects of SP value on attitude to SP
depends on the country of the respondent, F(6, 1,503) ¼2.65, p¼0.015, partial η
2
¼0.010
(see Figure 4). Simple effects analyses indicated that SP with monetary value has a
statistically significant positive effect on attitude towards SP for respondents from
Indonesia, F(1, 1,503) ¼11.84, p¼0.001, and Malaysia, F(1, 1,503) ¼8.26, p¼0.004.
However, the SP value does not significantly influence attitude to SP for other countries.
4.3 Predictors of attitude towards sales promotion
To estimate the proportion of variance in attitude towards SP that can be accounted for by
country, age, education level, income, promotion timing, promotion value, PI, product
category and product price, a standard multiple regression analysis was performed.
In combination the nine variables accounted for a significant 10.0 per cent of the variability
in attitude towards SP, R
2
¼0.10, adjusted R
2
¼0.10, F(9, 1,561) ¼19.28, po0.001.
SPT Timing Value SPT Timing Value
Advertisement Delayed Non-monetary Point of purchase Instant Non-monetary
Contest Delayed Non-monetary Premium Instant Monetary
Coupons Instant Monetary Refunds Instant Monetary
Discount Instant Monetary Samples Instant Non-monetary
Table X.
Sales promotion
technique timing and
value categories
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Unstandardised ( B) and standardised (ß) regression coefficients and squared semi-partial
correlations (sr
2
) for each predictor in the regression model are shown in Table XI. Country
significantly influences the attitude towards SP (β¼0.253, po0.001). In addition, the
greater the education level (β¼−0.106, po0.001) or personal income (β¼−0.075, po0.05)
the less positive the attitude towards SP.
5. Discussion
Positive response to SP in globalised markets is crucial, however, marketers struggle to
design and attain profitability from promotional campaigns (Laran and Tsiros, 2013). This
study examined the influence of demographics, PI and SP characteristics affecting
consumer attitudes towards SP in cultural dissimilar environments. The results show that
country (location) does affect a customer’s SP preference and attitude towards SP.
The results of this study clearly indicate that location (country and culture) has a
significant effect on the perception and value of specific SPT, for example, New Zealanders
rank discounts significantly higher and samples significantly lower than the other seven
countries. Indonesia and Malaysia show the most favourable general attitude towards SP,
with New Zealand expressing the least favourable attitude. The concept of self-construal
could explain the difference in attitude towards SP between Asia and western societies.
Self-construal describes how an individual view themselves in relation to others and the
3.50
3.70
3.90
4.10
4.30
4.50
4.70
4.90
5.10
5.30
Attitude towards sales promotion techique
Country
Brunei
China
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Monetary
Non-monetary
Figure 4.
Mean attitude towards
sales promotion by
country and values
Variable B [95% CI] ßsr
2
Country 0.104 [0.084, 0.124]** 0.253 0.242
Age 0.000 [−0.038, 0.038] −0.000 0.000
Education level −0.165 [−0.242, −0.087]** −0.106 −0.100
Personal annual income −0.041 [−0.069, −0.012]* −0.075 −0.068
Delayed or Instant promotion −0.151 [−0.313, 0.010] −0.058 −0.044
Monetary or Non-monetary promotion 0.063 [−0.061, 0.187] 0.032 0.024
Product involvement −0.047 [−0.489, 0.395] −0.011 −0.005
Product category 0.000 [−0.011, 0.010] −0.001 −0.001
Price −0.062 [−0.164, 0.04] −0.063 −0.028
Notes: n¼1571. CI, confidence interval. *po0.05; **po0.001
Table XI.
Predictors in a
regression model
predicting attitude
towards sales
promotion
Consumer
attitude
towards SPT
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social environment (Hong and Chang, 2015). Asian cultures (collectivist) tend to foster an
interdependent self-construal, whereas western societies (individualist), such as New
Zealand, tend to adopt an independent self-construal (Markus and Kitayama, 1991).
Consumers from independent self-construal cultures are more likely to rely on their feelings
in contrast to consumers from interdependent self-construal cultures, who are more likely to
rely on reasoning. Hence, Asian consumers may evaluate SP in a more analytic holistic
manner; information from the SP may be perceived as more interconnected, part of a social
context, related to social definitions and relationships. Western consumers, on the other
hand, may view the SP information more independently and emotionally, interpreting SP
techniques as more detached from the social context (Hong and Chang, 2015).
The consumer demographic factors examined in this study did influence SP consumer
preference. Discounts are the overall preferred SPT, regardless of age or income level,
although respondents from Brunei and Indonesia rank Coupons first. Advertised specials
are least preferred by those respondents under the age of 25 and over 56 years of age.
Refunds are least preferred by respondents aged between 25 and 55.
The “no income”group ranked Premiums first by a small margin, possible because
premiums deliver a tangible product, and hence provides a perceived additional value, not
otherwise available to the no income group. The trends from the results indicate that
refunds are least preferred for respondents with incomes greater than $20,000. Refunds
require time and energy (additional cost) to use, and respondents with income may
consider, and put more weight on, the cost-benefit trade-off (Blattberg and Neslin, 1990).
Respondents with incomes less than $20,000 least preferred Advertised Specials,
possibly since low-income groups have little disposable income to spend on brand
advertised specials.
In general, there is a favourable attitude to SP across the eight countries studied. There
are significant differences between countries and the attitude towards the different SP.
Country and location do make a significant difference towards the attitude to SP. Indonesia
and Malaysia have the most favourable attitude to SP, while Brunei and New Zealand have
the least favourable attitude to SP. This result implies that individual country differences
should be taken into account when developing a SP campaign.
Age has a significant effect on attitude towards SP and is influenced by country.
Regardless of age customers show a positive attitude towards SP, however, older customers
have a less positive attitude towards SP, more so in some countries than others.
In particular, attitude towards SPs decrease for older groups in China, Thailand, Indonesia
and Hong Kong, whereas older groups in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei report a more
positive attitude to SPs. The effect of age on New Zealand respondents’attitude to SP
remains low and show little overall change.
The age effect may be due to the fact that young consumers shop more frequently and
are more susceptible to impulse purchase tendency, or that older consumers in some
countries have limited income (Chang et al., 2014). Regardless of country, respondents
with annual income less than NZ$20,000 reported a significantly more positive attitude
towards SP. Income has an inconsistent influence on the respondents’attitude towards SP
depending on country, with China, Hong Kong and Singapore respondents demonstrating
significant different effects. Respondents with a tertiary education exhibited a more
favourable attitude towards SP.
Those respondents who purchased apparel tended to be significantly more positive
towards SP, while respondents who purchased personal goods and furniture indicated the
least favourable attitude. The more positive attitude towards apparel promotions may be
a result of continuous changing fashion trends, pressure to update personal apparel
and regular promotional activities which include multiple and varied sensory cues
(Hultén and Vanyushyn, 2014).
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As a main effect, monetary value did not significantly influence the attitude towards SP.
However, there is a country by monetary value interaction effect. In particular, the results
for Indonesia and Malaysia show that monetary value (vs non-monetary value) positively
affects attitude towards SP. One explanation is that Indonesia and Malaysia are multi-racial
countries and culturally neutral promotions (e.g. monetary focused) are encouraged and
preferred (Tong et al., 2012). In addition, the majority (96.8 per cent) of Indonesia
and Malaysia respondents reported the lowest annual personal incomes amongst the
countries surveyed, less than NZ$40,000 per annum, and hence consumers may consider
monetary value SPT significantly more important when the shopping budget is limited.
Respondents who purchased products using delayed-reward SPT reported a
significantly more positive attitude towards SP. This result appears counter-intuitive.
However, delayed-reward SPT (e.g. consumer contest) are differentiated from other SP
techniques through a demonstration of individual consumer skill and/or athleticism, and
include an element of risk. These two features provide a level of surprise, uncertainty
and skill, which some consumers appreciate as additional entertainment in the purchase
process (Laran and Tsiros, 2013; Liu et al., 2007).
The results show that purchasers of low involvement products tend to have a
significantly more positive attitude towards SP. A possible explanation is that consumers
tend to be price sensitive for low involvement products, and from a naïve theory perspective
SP could be interpreted as a good deal (Deval et al., 2013; Mitra and Lynch, 1995). Similarly,
purchasers of higher priced products showed significantly less positive attitude towards SP.
Although product SP are used as an appeal to attract consumer, they may be interpreted as
a deal on an inferior product (Alvarez and Casielles, 2005; Lichtenstein et al., 1989).
Second, high-priced products decisions are more considered and undergo a more rational
decision-making process, and therefore may not be as susceptible to SP.
Multiple regression analysis found that as education and income increase the overall
attitude towards SP it decreases. The implication being that SP, in general, are more
effective targeted at less educated lower income consumers. Education and income levels are
associated with consumer involvement in shaping attitude towards SPT (Lee et al., 2012).
A possible explanation is that consumers with higher (lower) education attach less (high)
importance to symbolic product aspects. Expressive products aspects are aesthetic or
symbolic while functional product aspects focus on practicality, ease of use and quality
(Creusen, 2010).
In general, regardless of country, age, income, education or marital status, the
respondents indicated a significant positive attitude towards SP.
5.1 Managerial implications
The current study found that although a number of factors influence the consumers’
attitude towards SP, country has the most significant influence. Managers need to consider
whether to use SPT, as well as the type of SPT most accepted and effective, within each
country. Indonesia and Malaysia consumers have the most positive attitude towards SPTs,
while New Zealand respondents have the least positive attitude towards SPTs. The results
indicate a complex interaction between age, education, income and SPT that need to be
considered when segmenting and targeting consumer groups within and between countries.
The results indicate a single global SPT will not be equally effective across counties
and/or cultures.
From the perspective of retailers and marketers, the research recognises that consumers
have a more positive attitude towards SP that include monetary incentives, such as coupons,
discounts, premium, refund and rebates. Discounts are most attractive to the majority of
respondents and are easily available to both online and off-line marketers but do not create a
sustainable competitive advantage or help differentiate brands or products. Since SP are
Consumer
attitude
towards SPT
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easily duplicated, it would be difficult for businesses to develop a competitive advantage
only using SP. However, by considering the preferred SP reported by country (culture) and
matching that information with product (or service) and the ideal consumer profile,
marketers can now develop an appropriate SP strategy based on consumer profile for each
of these countries. For example, the results of the research support SP strategies that target
less educated consumers purchasing lower priced goods. Delayed-reward SPT, such as
contests and advertisement, should be considered in specific circumstances for more
affluent consumers and/or attempting to reinforce the brand. Managers should consider the
interaction of SPT with monetary incentive and demographics in designing SP.
The research also identified five distinct and significantly different country groups with
respect to attitudes towards SP: Brunei; China, Singapore and Thailand (SW Asia);
Hong Kong; Indonesia and Malaysia (Indo-Malay); and New Zealand.
Brunei and New Zealand have the least favourable view of SP; hence, SP need to be
more precisely targeted in these two countries. The results for New Zealand are not clear;
however, from the findings in this study discounts appear to be the most attractive.
Brunei, on the other hand, appears to be most attracted to contests; therefore, games of
chance, knowledge or physical challenges would be most appropriate. SP strategies
such as these can be developed for each country, based on customer profiles, country and
product (service).
5.2 Future research and limitations
This study examined and provided insight into customer preferences and attitude towards
SPT across culturally dissimilar environments. However, there are some limitations. There
were minor variations in the survey questionnaire between countries. Instead of a
combination of mailed survey and mall intercept data collection, perhaps a consistent
sampling technique (e.g. all data collected through mall intercept) may have provided
additional robustness and insight. Adding questions to identify motivation to take advantage
of SP and which SPT they prefer to use, or find most attractive, would have been helpful.
Timing of the survey needs to be considered, one could consider the impact and influence of
festive events, national holidays and special events. Intra- and inter-organisational
implications to accommodate SP innovations should also be analysed (Kim et al., 2018).
Our study focused on large cities in eight countries, with only one “western”country
represented. Future research should include smaller cities, additional western countries and
additional diverse cultures. Consideration should be given to include North America and
Europe, and to develop a longitudinal perspective.
Notes
1. Data were not available for Guangzhou or New Zealand.
2. Data were not available for Guangzhou or New Zealand.
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Appendix. Survey items
Corresponding author
Pedro Q. Brito can be contacted at: pbrito@fep.up.pt
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