Behavioral response to online pricing: empirical and managerial insights

Purpose Pricing is always a fundamental marketing element. In the digital marketing/e-commerce context, there are two universal phenomena: desire to micro-segment and customize, and the adverse reaction upon unfair perception of price. A third related question is how should firms consider price increases and decreases? Specifically, this paper aims to address the following three research and practice questions: What are the theoretical underpinnings of perception of fairness/unfairness in pricing, and what are the findings? What are the theoretical underpinnings of response to price increases and decreases? What should be online pricing strategy, consistent with the findings on (un)fairness perception of pricing and response to price increases and decreases? Design/methodology/approach The present approach is integrative review and critical analyses, and synthesis. The review dates back to 1960s, and is inter-disciplinary, including apposite findings in behavioral science, economics, marketing and operations management/research. The authors search for insights with significant empirical support to address these questions. Findings Perception of unfair price impacts consumer choice, probability of purchase, intent to buy and attitude to product/service/firm adversely. Consumers react differently to perceived unfair and fair prices. Consumers react more strongly and negatively to perceived unfair prices (compared to prices perceived to be fair) in their intent to buy and other related metrics. Consumers react differently to price increases and price decreases relative to the reference price. Consumers react more strongly to price increases than to price decreases. There is substantial heterogeneity in the magnitude of loss-aversion effect, depending on the product/service category and estimation methods. Originality/value The authors review and discuss potential viable pricing strategies. Based on the generalizable findings, this study provides actionable insights to managers for pricing in digital marketing context. Also, the authors provide useful directions for future research.