Which Motivating Messaging Strategy is More Effective – the Discount Offered or Limited Time Offer Available?
Website design elements affect customers’ experience and purchase decisions (Bleier et al., 2019) and are examples of the many factors studied by marketers and business owners when attempting to predict consumer behavior. Websites allow online retailers to customize the shopping experience for their customers, and when done effectively, it can substantially increase online sales (Haubl, & Trifts, 2000). Messaging plays an important role in consumer behavior and can greatly affect the consumer’s action on the website; however, creating a message related to each brand’s customer base is necessary to increase sales (Hongcharu, 2019). Although numerous studies have been conducted to determine which aspects of banner designs most affect their performance, testing everything from using different colors and animation to different banner sizes (Robinson et al., 2007), there is still much to investigate to determine which type of messaging online shoppers are more responsive to. Understanding which messaging online shoppers respond more to would indicate what persuasive strategy is more effective (Howard, 2020).
Different consumers are motivated by different factors (Hirsh et al., 2012). Situational factors and motivations would determine how affectively different messaging would impact consumers (Adaji et al., 2020; Hirsh et al., 2012). These include which persuasive strategies within the ad copy or website page would be most effective (Adaji et al., 2020; Hirsh et al., 2012). Some of the strategies used by online retailers include offering discounts on their purchase to bargain (Kaptein & Duplinsky, 2013) or employing scarcity tactics such as highlighting the limited quantity or time (Adaji et al., 2020; Kaptein & Duplinsky, 2013). Understanding which motivating factors have more of a significant impact on consumers for online retailers would lead to more effective ads and banners which would, in turn, generate more clicks and sales (Adaji et al., 2020; Keng Kau et al., 2003; Kaptein and Duplinsky, 2013).
This research study examines two common motivating messaging strategies used by online retailers, discount and scarcity, to determine which method is more likely to generate stronger interest from possible consumers. Previous studies have demonstrated that certain ad tactics are more effective with certain types of consumers (Adaji et al., 2020; Kaptein and Duplinsky, 2013). However, when an ad or a website page receives a broader consumer audience, such as a website’s homepage, understanding which messaging would have a wider appeal to a general consumer would be extremely beneficial to both smaller and larger online retailers.
Method
Participants
One hundred participants (66 males and 32 females) were recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk for a study with the description “Web banner Experiment,” for which they were paid twenty cents. Participation was limited to participants located in the United States with a past approval rating in the Mechanical Turk system above 70%: The majority of participants (38.2%) were aged between 31-40, (26.5%) were aged between 41-50 and (20.6%) were aged between 25-30. Participants were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Most participants were white (94.1%), had a bachelor’s degree in college. In addition, most of the participants (66%) have previously shopped on the brand site in the past.
Materials and Procedure
An online experiment was used to collect data on November 25, 2021, from 7:35 pm PST to 9:00 pm PST. The independent variables are two website banners with different sales messaging. The first banner focused on the “50% off everything” messaging, while the second focused on “offer ends midnight.” The dependent variable assessed how likely the participants were to click on the banner to see the item on sale and consisted of 15 questions. (see Appendix). The dependent variables were divided into three sections: Shopping Behavior, Budget Conscious, and Sense of Urgency. The first section, Shopping Behavior, assessed how likely the participants were to click on each banner. An example question from this section was, “How likely are you to click on the banner?” The last section, Budget Conscious, examined the participants’ sensitivity to price; an example question from this section was “How important is getting an item on sale to you?” The third section, Sense of Urgency, assessed the participants’ response to offers with a known time limit; an example question from this section was “How likely are you to respond to a limited-time offer?”. The majority of questions were answered via a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from “extremely unlikely” to “extremely likely.”
Results
An independent-samples t test was conducted to evaluate if banner messaging affected people’s likelihood of clicking on the banner. The test was nonsignificant, t(98) = 0.21, p = .833, and the mean for banner effectiveness was about the same for urgency messaging (M = 3.98, SD = .97) as it was for promotional messaging (M = 4.02, SD = .93).
An independent-samples t test was conducted to evaluate if the promotion message was compelling. The test was nonsignificant, t(97) = -0.16, p = .877, and the mean for banner effectiveness was about the same for urgency messaging (M = 3.67, SD = 1.08) as it was for promotional messaging (M = 3.64, SD = 1.08).
An independent-samples t test was conducted to evaluate if banner messaging affected the likelihood of people to shop and purchase. The test was nonsignificant, t(96) = 0.55, p = .587, and the mean for banner effectiveness was about the same for urgency messaging (M = 3.91, SD = 1.04) as it was for promotional messaging (M = 4.02, SD = 0.86).
An independent-samples t test was conducted to evaluate if banner messaging affected the likelihood people would keep scrolling past the banner to shop or learn more. The test was nonsignificant, t(95) = -0.68, p = .496, and the mean for banner effectiveness was about the same for urgency messaging (M = 3.92, SD = .99) as it was for promotional messaging (M = 3.78, SD = 1.05).
Discussion
This study found both the discount and limited time offer motivating messaging strategies would generate interest and clicks to the product pages. However, there was no statistical significance indicating that either messaging strategy outperformed the other as both messaging strategies generated positive feedback from the participants.
The timing of this study may have affected the results as the participants took part in this study at the end of the day on Black Friday when more people are likely to be in the mindset to make purchases. Black Friday is notorious for having many retailers offering discounts on a large selection of merchandise for a set period of time, and 87% of consumers are aware of this day (Scharwenka, 2019). Participants were likely to have been aware of the Black Friday sales, and as it was the end of the day, they were more likely to have been less discriminating towards ad messaging as they were expecting discounts that were likely to end that day. This consumer expectation of sales may have produced anomalous results. Furthermore, as 62% of the participants indicated that they have shopped for this brand before, the participant’s familiarity with the brand may have obfuscated the results as to whether the messaging of the banner ad or the customer’s previously established interest in the brand resulted in the desire to click on the banner ad.
One limitation of this study is the participants were asked a hypothetical question of whether they would click on the ad or scroll down the page. Evaluating which messaging strategies were more effective in generating clicks would require performing an a/b or a multivariate test with actual website traffic of real customers to determine which messaging is more likely to generate more clicks. As this experiment was non-significant and participants indicated that both messaging appealed to them, creating a third option combining both messaging should be tested along with the two banners. Lastly, the lack of a control group in the experiment prevents establishing the effect of any messaging in addition to the standard advertisement. Should the different messages perform identically with the control group that contains no added messages, it would be possible to determine if, as opposed to an equal effect, there is no measurable difference at all from adding either.
References
Adaji, Oyibo, K., & Vassileva, J. (2020). E-Commerce shopping motivation and the influence of persuasive strategies. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 3, 67–67. https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2020.00067
Bleier, Harmeling, C. M., & Palmatier, R. W. (2019). Creating effective online customer experiences. Journal of Marketing, 83(2), 98–119. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242918809930
Haubl, & Trifts, V. (2000). Consumer decision making in online shopping environments: The effects of interactive decision aids. Marketing Science (Providence, R.I.), 19(1), 4–21. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.19.1.4.15178
Hirsh, Kang, S. K., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2012). Personalized persuasion: Tailoring persuasive appeals to recipients’ personality traits. Psychological Science, 23(6), 578–581. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611436349
Hongcharu. (2019). Effects of message variation and communication tools choices on consumer response. Global Business Review, 20(1), 42–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150918803528
Howard E. (2020). Using layout review and messaging analysis to form localization Hypotheses: An example for localization of e-commerce female clothing websites for the Russian market. Advances in Theory and Practice of Emerging Markets. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24374-6_18
Kaptein, & Duplinsky, S. (2013). Combining multiple influence strategies to increase consumer compliance. International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 8(1), 32–53. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJIMA.2013.056586
Keng Kau, Tang, Y. E., & Ghose, S. (2003). Typology of online shoppers. The Journal of Consumer Marketing, 20(2), 139–156. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760310464604
Robinson, Wysocka, A., & Hand, C. (2007). Internet advertising effectiveness: The effect of design on click-through rates for banner ads. International Journal of Advertising, 26(4), 527–541. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2007.11073031
Scharwenka, N. (2019). Black Friday discount strategy: 3 takeaways for retailers. Simon Kutcher & Partners Strategy & Marketing Consultants. https://www.simon-kucher.com/en-us/blog/black-friday-discount-strategy-3-takeaways-retailers
Appendix
Cardinal Web Banner Experiment
Start of Block: Introduction – Welcome
Welcome to our quick survey, where we’ll get to know a bit more about your online shopping preferences. The goal of this survey is to gain a better understanding of what is most important to you in an online web promotion banner. As a qualified survey candidate, you are at least 18 years of age, are familiar with online shopping, and have previously shopped online.
Your payment code will be provided at the end of the survey. Thanks for your time, and have fun – let’s get started!
End of Block: Introduction – Welcome
Start of Block: Independent Variable Price
Q1 Please take a close look at the image and answer the series of questions that follow.
End of Block: Independent Variable Price
Start of Block: Independent Variable Urgency
Q2 Please take a close look at the image and answer the series of questions that follow.
End of Block: Independent Variable Urgency
Start of Block: Shopping Behavior
Q3 Did the banner make you want to click the “shop now” button?
o Yes (1)
o Maybe (2)
o No (3)
Q4 How likely are you to click on the banner?
o Extremely unlikely (1)
o Somewhat unlikely (2)
o Neither likely nor unlikely (3)
o Somewhat likely (4)
o Extremely likely (5)
Q5 How compelling did you find the promotion?
o Not at all compelling (1)
o A little compelling (2)
o Neither compelling or not compelling (3)
o Somewhat compelling (4)
o Extremely compelling (5)
Q6 If you were to click on the banner, why?
________________________________________________________________
Q7 How likely are you to make a purchase due to this banner?
o Extremely unlikely (1)
o Somewhat unlikely (2)
o Neither likely nor unlikely (3)
o Somewhat likely (4)
o Extremely likely (5)
Q8 How likely are you to see what’s on sale?
o Extremely unlikely (1)
o Somewhat unlikely (2)
o Neither likely nor unlikely (3)
o Somewhat likely (4)
o Extremely likely (5)
Q9 How likely are you to keep scrolling past the banner to keep shopping?
o Extremely unlikely (1)
o Somewhat unlikely (2)
o Neither likely nor unlikely (3)
o Somewhat likely (4)
o Extremely likely (5)
Q10 Do you understand what you need to do next, based on the banner?
o Definitely not (1)
o Probably not (2)
o Might or might not (3)
o Probably yes (4)
o Definitely yes (5)
End of Block: Shopping Behavior
Start of Block: Budget-Conscious
Q11 How important is getting an item on sale to you?
o Not at all important (1)
o Slightly important (2)
o Moderately important (3)
o Very important (4)
o Extremely important (5)
Q12 Do you buy at retail price or wait for a sale?
o I buy at retail price (1)
o I wait for a sale (2)
End of Block: Budget-Conscious
Start of Block: Sense of Urgency
Q13 How likely are you to respond to an offer that shows the sales price?
o Extremely unlikely (1)
o Somewhat unlikely (2)
o Neither likely nor unlikely (3)
o Somewhat likely (4)
o Extremely likely (5)
Q14 How likely are you to respond to a limited-time offer?
o Extremely unlikely (1)
o Somewhat unlikely (2)
o Neither likely nor unlikely (3)
o Somewhat likely (4)
o Extremely likely (5)
Q15 How likely are you to experience regret when you miss a sale?
o Extremely unlikely (1)
o Somewhat unlikely (2)
o Neither likely nor unlikely (3)
o Somewhat likely (4)
o Extremely likely (5)
Q16 How likely are you to experience regret when you spend too much money on a sale?
o Extremely unlikely (1)
o Somewhat unlikely (2)
o Neither likely nor unlikely (3)
o Somewhat likely (4)
o Extremely likely (5)
Q17 Choose the answer that best suits you: I shop mostly because of …
o Sales/Promotions (1)
o Brand loyalty (2)
o Necessity (3)
End of Block: Sense of Urgency
Start of Block: Demographics Base/Universal
Q18 Have you previously shopped at this store online?
o No (1)
o Cannot recall (2)
o Yes (3)
Q19 Are you shopping for yourself or someone else?
o Myself (1)
o Someone else (2)
o Both (3)
Q20 What is your age range?
o Younger than 18 (1)
o 18-24 (2)
o 25-30 (3)
o 31-40 (4)
o 41-50 (5)
o 51-60 (6)
o 61+ (7)
Q21 What is the highest level of school you have completed or the highest degree you have received?
o Less than high school degree (1)
o High school graduate (high school diploma or equivalent including GED) (2)
o Some college but no degree (3)
o Associate degree in college (2-year) (4)
o Bachelor’s degree in college (4-year) (5)
o Master’s degree (6)
o Doctoral degree (7)
o Professional degree (JD, MD) (8)
Q22 Are you Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino or none of these?
o Yes (1)
o None of these (2)
Q23 Choose one or more races that you consider yourself to be:
▢ White (1)
▢ Black or African American (2)
▢ American Indian or Alaska Native (3)
▢ Asian (4)
▢ Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (5)
▢ Other (6) ________________________________________________
Q24 Select the option you best identify with:
o Male (1)
o Female (2)
o Non-binary (3)
o Prefer not to answer (4)
Q25 Please indicate the answer that includes your entire household income.
o Less than $10,000 (1)
o $10,000 to $19,999 (2)
o $20,000 to $29,999 (3)
o $30,000 to $39,999 (4)
o $40,000 to $49,999 (5)
o $50,000 to $59,999 (6)
o $60,000 to $69,999 (7)
o $70,000 to $79,999 (8)
o $80,000 to $89,999 (9)
o $90,000 to $99,999 (10)
o $100,000 to $149,999 (11)
o $150,000 or more (12)
o Prefer not to answer (13)
End of Block: Demographics Base/Universal