Promotion framing effects on the purchase of hedonic-utilitarian bundles: ERPs evidence of the moderating role of income source

• Published in: Neuroscience letters Vol. 817; p. 137516
• Main Authors: Ma, Haiying, Mo, Zan, Gao, Hongming, Fang, Hui, Fu, Huijian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 20-11-2023
• ISSN: 0304-3940; 1872-7972
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137516

Prior studies suggest that people are susceptible to the promotion framing effect. Yet it's still unknown if income source moderates the effect of promotion frame on consumer decision-making and the underlying neural responses. The current study applied the event-related potentials (ERPs) approach to exploring the moderating role of income source (hard-earned income and windfall income) on the promotion framing effect in a cross-category bundling context. Two promotion frames were created with identical total prices for a cross-category bundle that included both hedonic and utilitarian products. The behavioral results showed that income source moderated the effect of promotion frame on neural responses and purchase decision-making. When participants obtained a hard-earned income, they showed an attenuated N2, an enlarged LPP amplitude, and a higher purchase rate in the hedonic (vs. utilitarian) freebie condition; but when they obtained a windfall income, the effect of promotion frame disappeared. Overall, the conclusions have important ramifications for both theory and practice.