Work

Extra Coupons and Unexpected Loss: The Effect of Unstackable Coupons on Consumer Purchases and Satisfaction

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Issuing coupons to promote products and services is used by businesses to stimulate consumption. However, consumers often encounter unstackable coupons, which refers to coupons that cannot be used together due to restrictions on coupon‐stacking. This study examines how unstackable coupons influence consumer purchases and satisfaction using the sense of loss to investigate the mechanism and boundary conditions of the effects of unstackable coupons through five experiments. We find an unstackable coupon reduces consumers’ purchase intentions and satisfaction, and a sense of loss plays a mediating role in this process. Our results also verify the moderating effects of the period of the coupon's validity, conditions for obtaining coupons, and the effort level required to obtain them. These findings provide guidance for enterprises in conducting coupon promotions to increase sales as well as consumer satisfaction.

Source: Psychology and Marketing

DOI: 10.1002/mar.22201

Authors: Chenyan Gu, Shuyue Jia, Litong Li, Jiahan Chen, Jiaomin Lin, Lei Zhou

Institution: Guangdong University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Consumer Market Behavior and Pricing

Subfield: Marketing

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Jilin Office of Philosophy and Social Science, Humanities and Social Science Fund of Ministry of Education of China

Awards: G6470636362, 社交媒体情境下品牌反差广告的效果和影响机制研究