SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY, 2014, 42(8), 1293-1302

© Society for Personality Research

http://dx.doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2014.42.8.1293

EFFECTS OF PRICE DISCOUNTS AND BONUS PACKS ON

ONLINE IMPULSE BUYING

YIN XU
Central University of Finance and Economics
JIN-SONG HUANG
Beihang University

We investigated and compared the effects of 2 forms of sales promotion, namely, price
discounts and bonus packs, on online impulse buying. Participants were 280 undergraduate
business students at a Chinese university, who responded to a promotion on a mock website.
Previous researchers have shown that bonus packs have a greater impact on offline impulse
buying than do price discounts. However, our findings were different in the online impulse
buying context, in which price discounts resulted in greater impulse buying intention than
did bonus packs when the product was hedonic, and bonus packs were a more effective sales
promotion than price discounts when the product was utilitarian. In addition, price discounts
resulted in greater impulse buying intention than did bonus packs when the product was
inexpensive, whereas bonus packs were a more effective sales promotion than were price
discounts when the product was expensive.

Keywords: price discounts, bonus packs, online buying, online impulse buying, impulse
buying, sales promotion.

Easy access to products, ease of purchase process, lack of social pressures, and
absence of delivery efforts have resulted in online shoppers being more impulsive
than offline shoppers (Jeffrey & Hodge, 2007). Recently, researchers found that
almost 60% of online shoppers were impulsive (Dolliver, 2009), and Verhagen

Yin Xu, Department of Marketing, Central University of Finance and Economics; Jin-Song Huang,
Department of Marketing, Beihang University.
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71031001,
71172015, 71372006, and 71102127).
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Jin-Song Huang, Department of
Marketing, Beihang University, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, People’s Republic
of China. Email: Huangjs@buaa.edu.cn

1293
1294 SALES PROMOTION AND ONLINE IMPULSE BUYING

and van Dolen (2011) reported that impulse buying apparently occurs in about
40% of all online expenditure.
Because impulse buying behavior is primarily stimulus-driven (Rook & Fisher,
1995), e-marketers are increasingly implementing promotional campaigns
that will be effective in triggering consumer impulse buying behavior (Zhang,
Prybutok, & Koh, 2006). Because leading e-retailers realize that promotional
strategies, such as featured products, sale products, and free gifts, greatly
contribute to increasing sales and profits, they have, therefore, increased such
stimuli on their websites. For example, the percentage of the top 100 e-retailers
who offered an online outlet or clearance area increased by 10% in one year, and
the percentage of those who offered a free gift with purchases increased by 9%
(Loechner, 2009).
In the limited research on online impulse buying, scholars have paid attention
to the environmental features of websites, such as media format (Adelaar, Chang,
Lancendorfer, Lee, & Morimoto, 2003) and visual appeal (Zhang et al., 2006),
and the effects of personal characteristics, such as consumers’ gender, subjective
norms, and impulsivity, on their online buying behavior (Jeffrey & Hodge, 2007).
In contrast, the vast majority of traditional marketing researchers of sales
promotions have viewed consumers’ decision making from the perspective of
rational information processing. Researchers have examined the effect of sales
promotions on brand loyalty, brand switching, purchase of nonpromoted products,
purchase acceleration, product trials, and stockpiling (Gilbert & Jackaria, 2002).
However, few researchers have investigated the effects of sales promotions on
online buying behavior (Inman, McAlister, & Hoyer, 1990).
Our goal in this study was to fill this gap by (a) comparing the effects of
different forms of sales promotion on online impulse buying behavior, by
focusing on two ubiquitous sales promotion tools, namely price discounts and
bonus packs; and (b) examining the moderating effects of product type and
product base price.

Literature Review and Hypothesis Development

Impulse Buying and its Antecedents

Stern (1962) defined impulse buying as any purchase that a shopper makes
that has not been planned. It is a sudden and immediate purchase, with no
preshopping intention either to buy the specific product category or to fulfill
a specific buying task (Beatty & Ferrell, 1998). The behavior occurs after the
shopper experiences an urge to buy, and it tends to be spontaneous and without
a lot of reflection (i.e., it is impulsive; Beatty & Ferrell, 1998). The impulsive
decision is often made after being exposed to the product for the first time and is
mostly stimulus-driven (Rook & Fisher, 1995).
 SALES PROMOTION AND ONLINE IMPULSE BUYING 1295
According to the Consumption Impulse Formation Enactment model (Dholakia,
2000), three antecedents form a consumption impulse: marketing stimuli (or
external impulse trigger cues), a person’s impulsivity trait, and situational factors.
In e-commerce, because sales promotion is an important external stimulus to
trigger impulse buying, e-marketers frequently implement promotional tactics
to promote up- and cross-selling through featured products, price discounts,
bonus packs, and other promotional offers (Dawson & Kim, 2009). In online
shopping, it is very likely that a shopper has no knowledge of certain products
and no explicit intention to buy them, but may very well buy them, having been
stimulated by the terms of the deal (e.g., low price, bonus pack). The most typical
example is Cyber Monday, when many shoppers visit e-retailers’ websites in
search of good deals without any thoughtful consideration of whether or not they
really need the products.

Price Discounts and Bonus Packs

Price discounts and bonus packs are the most widely employed sales promotion
strategies, both online and offline (Chen, Marmorstein, Tsiros, & Rao, 2012;
Dawson & Kim, 2009). Price discounts are a price-based sales promotion strategy
in which customers are offered the same product at a reduced price. In contrast,
bonus packs represent a quantity-based sales promotion strategy in which
customers are offered more of the product for the same price (Mishra & Mishra,
2011). Price discounts can be offered as a reduction in terms of a percentage of
the original price or in terms of dollars off. There is also a widespread use of
bonus packs for a variety of product categories such as clothing, for example,
buy one, get one free at www.macys.com (Chen et al., 2012).
Previous researchers have suggested that, in the offline context, consumers
prefer bonus packs to a discount that is equivalent in value. For example,
Diamond (1992) argued that although both price discounts and bonus packs offer
savings, consumers view bonus packs more positively because they are framed
as a gain whereas the price discount is framed as a loss. When offered a bonus
pack, consumers tend to think that they are getting something “free” for the same
price (Chandran & Morwitz, 2006). We believe it is important that the majority of
offline buying behavior researchers established their conclusions on the basis of
mental calculation and gain/loss evaluation. We were unsure whether or not this
would apply to impulse buying, and in the online context (Hoch & Loewenstein,
1991; Rook & Fisher, 1995).
We reasoned that the advantage of bonus packs over price discounts in
promoting offline buying behavior would disappear and even reverse in the
online context. First, online shoppers are more price-sensitive because of the
readily available low search cost and direct price comparisons. Online shoppers
are provided with easy tools to compare and rank the prices of competitors’
1296 SALES PROMOTION AND ONLINE IMPULSE BUYING

products on many price comparison sites. Because online shoppers consider

low prices and price discounts as must-haves to be offered by e-marketers, the
negative views of price discounts are largely attenuated in the online context.
Second, because bonus packs are more difficult than price discounts to process
online, they are more difficult and effortful for the consumer to understand (Chen
et al., 2012). Inman et al. (1990) argued that simple and easy-to-understand cues
play an important role in engaging consumers in information processing and
impulsive responses.
Third, if online shoppers are concerned about the risk of online buying, they
may be more skeptical of the benefits of bonus packs than of price discounts
because the monetary value associated with bonus packs is unclear (Mishra &
Mishra, 2011). Therefore, we proposed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1: Price discounts will trigger the same or greater impulse buying
intention than will bonus packs in online shoppers.
We also predicted that the effect of sales promotions on impulse buying
would depend on whether the product was utilitarian or hedonic. Previous
researchers have shown that browsing hedonic stimuli online triggers positive
emotions which, in turn, stimulates more exploration and impulse buying
behavior than does browsing utilitarian stimuli (Verhagen & van Dolen, 2011).
Moreover, when purchasing a hedonic product online, shoppers often feel not
only immediate gratification, but also postconsumption guilt, which they try
to ameliorate by finding a reason or justification for the purchase (Jeffrey &
Hodge, 2007). Researchers have identified guilt-reducing strategies, such as
bundling the hedonic product with a charitable donation (Strahilevitz & Myers,
1998) or having the consumer commit to an altruistic act (Khan & Dhar, 2006).
Price discounts are also a kind of guilt-reducing justification because consumers
feel they are saving money by paying less. In contrast, buying bonus packs
encourages increased consumption, resulting in consumers feeling even guiltier.
Mishra and Mishra (2011) found that consumers avoided buying bonus packs
containing food that was not considered healthy because they felt that they would
eat more food that was not good for them. As a result, consumers preferred price
discounts over bonus packs when buying unhealthy food. Thus, we proposed the
following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2: Price discounts will trigger a greater intention to buy on impulse
online than will bonus packs when the product is hedonic, whereas bonus packs
will trigger a greater intention to buy on impulse online than will price discounts
when the product is utilitarian.
The effect of sales promotions on online impulse buying also depends on
whether the product is inexpensive or expensive. Typically, consumers believe
that inexpensive products earn a low profit margin whereas expensive products
earn a high profit margin (Hardesty & Bearden, 2003). When shopping online,
 SALES PROMOTION AND ONLINE IMPULSE BUYING 1297
they often seek products that maximize value, even more so than offline
consumers, who may shop with other intentions, such as quality seeking, service
seeking, or convenience seeking. Because a price discount on an inexpensive
product can generate a stronger sense of value compared with one of the same
monetary value on an expensive product, online shoppers may engage in more
impulse buying behavior.
In addition, some online shoppers may be unable to buy on impulse because
of financial constraints (Jeffrey & Hodge, 2007). They are more likely to prefer
price discounts to bonus packs because they are paying a lower price for the
same product rather than the same price for more of the product. Therefore, we
proposed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3: Price discounts will trigger a greater intention to buy on impulse
online than will bonus packs when the product is inexpensive, whereas bonus
packs will trigger a greater intention to buy on impulse online than will price
discounts when the product is expensive.

Produce base price

expensive inexpensive
Sales promotion forms
Online impulse
Price discount
Bonus pack Product type

hedonic utilitarian

Figure 1. Research model.

Method

Participants and Procedure

College students familiar with Internet shopping are popular subjects in online
behavior research (Zhang, Prybutok, & Strutton, 2007). Our participants were
280 undergraduate business students enrolled in marketing classes at a university
in China. When they logged onto the mock website, they were randomly assigned
to one of the eight experimental conditions. Each participant was presented
with a buying scenario with a brief description, a product photograph, and a
promotional offer. After reading the sales promotion information and viewing
the photographs, participants completed a 13-item impulse buying intention (IBI)
measure.

Measure
To measure IBI, we used the 13-item scale shown in Table 1, which is based
on the scale developed by Verplanken and Herabadi (2001). Participants rated the
1298 SALES PROMOTION AND ONLINE IMPULSE BUYING

items using a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 7 (strongly
agree). Cronbach’s  coefficient for the 13 items was .82.

Design
We employed a 2 (sales promotion: 50% off vs. two-for-one) × 2 (product
type: hedonic vs. utilitarian) × 2 (product base price: inexpensive vs. expensive)
between-subjects full factorial design. We used chocolate and milk as a hedonic
and utilitarian product, respectively. This product pair has been commonly used
previously (Mishra & Mishra, 2011). We used 5 RMB (US$0.8) and 50 RMB
(US$8) to manipulate the product base price, and developed a mock website,
simulating a grocery e-retailer’s website. The following are examples of the
scenario descriptions:
The 50% off–utilitarian–inexpensive condition: “Imagine you enter an
e-retailer’s website without any particular shopping plan. Unexpectedly, you find
that milk is now on sale. A bottle of milk, for which the regular price is 5 RMB,
is offered with a price discount of 50%.”
The two-for-one–hedonic–expensive condition: “Imagine you enter an
e-retailer’s website without any particular shopping plan. Unexpectedly, you find
that chocolate is now on sale. A box of chocolates, for which the regular price is
50 RMB, is offered as two-for-one.”

Table 1. Measurement Scale for Impulse Buying Intention

1. I become very excited when I see it.

2. It makes me feel pleased and gratified.
3. I feel an urge to buy it.
4. I fall in love with it at first sight.
5. I want to buy it even though I did not plan for it in advance.
6. I want to buy it even though I do not really need it.
7. I did not compare different brands before buying it.
8. I want to buy it without thinking.
9. I want to buy it spontaneously.
10. It is a struggle to leave it unpurchased.
11. I can’t suppress the feeling of wanting to buy it.
12. I want to buy it because I like it rather than because I need it.
13. If I buy it, I might feel regret.

Results

We averaged the scores for the 13 scale items to form a measure of IBI. A
three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that there were no significant
main effects for any of the following: form of sales promotion, F(1, 272) =
0.767, p > .10; product type, F(1, 272) = 2.294, p > .10; product base price,
 SALES PROMOTION AND ONLINE IMPULSE BUYING 1299
F(1, 272) = 0.955, p > .10; three-way interaction effect, F(1, 272) = 0.352, p > .10;
two-way interaction effect between product type and base price, F(1, 272) = 3.45,
p > .10.
Although the form of sales promotion did not have a significant effect on IBI,
the preference for bonus packs over price discounts found in previous offline
buying research was not present in this study with online shopping. Bonus packs
(M = 4.33) were not different from price discounts (M = 3.97) in generating
online IBI. Therefore, Hypothesis 1 was supported.
There was a significant interaction effect between the form of sales promotion
and product type, F(1, 272) = 5.93, p < .05. In addition, there was an interaction
effect between the form of sales promotion and product base price, F(1, 272) =
4.11, p < .05. Thus, Hypotheses 2 and 3 were supported.
For the hedonic product, in particular, IBI was at a significant level and
the level was slightly higher in the 50% off condition than in the two-for-one
condition, F = 2.39, p < .10. In contrast, for the utilitarian product, IBI was
at a significantly lower level in the 50% off condition than in the two-for-one
condition, F = 5.18, p < .05. This result provides support for Hypothesis 2 and
implies that price discounts resulted in greater consumer intention to buy on
impulse online than did bonus packs when the product was hedonic, whereas
bonus packs were a more effective sales promotion than price discounts when
the product was utilitarian.

4.4

4.2

utilitarian product
4
hedonic product

3.8

3.6
50% off two-for-one

Figure 2. Interaction effect between form of sales promotion and product type.

For inexpensive products, IBI was at a significant level and the level was
slightly higher in the 50% off condition than in the two-for-one condition, F =
1.96, p < .10. In contrast, for the expensive product, IBI was at a significantly
lower level in the 50% off condition than in the two-for-one condition, F = 3.60,
1300 SALES PROMOTION AND ONLINE IMPULSE BUYING

p < .05. This result provides support for Hypothesis 3 and implies that price
discounts resulted in greater consumer intention to buy on impulse online than
did bonus packs when the product was inexpensive, whereas bonus packs were
a more effective sales promotion than price discounts when the product was
expensive.
4.4

4.2
expensive product
inexpensive product
4

3.8

3.6
50% off two-for-one

Figure 3. Interaction effect between form of sales promotion and product base price.

Discussion

We demonstrated that bonus packs did not have an advantage over price
discounts among our participants in the online context, and that they were not
different from price discounts in generating online impulse buying. Furthermore,
we found that consumers’ offline preference for bonus packs over a price
discount may even reverse for hedonic and inexpensive products in the online
context. We extended the unhealthy food category in Mishra and Mishra’s (2011)
study to a hedonic product, and added product base price as a novel moderator.
We empirically demonstrated that a price discount was a more effective trigger
of IBI online than was a bonus pack, especially for hedonic and inexpensive
products. Conversely, the offer of a bonus pack had a greater impact on online
IBI when the product was utilitarian and expensive.
There are managerial implications in this study. Within the e-marketing mix,
sales promotions have one of the strongest impacts on short-term consumption
behavior, especially on impulse buying behavior. Sales promotions are one of the
strongest tools to trigger impulse buying for both online and offline shoppers.
However, whereas offline impulse shoppers can also be driven by other external
cues, such as the taste and smell of food, or the color and style of apparel, online
impulse shoppers are mainly driven by sales promotion (Dawson & Kim, 2009).
 SALES PROMOTION AND ONLINE IMPULSE BUYING 1301
To increase sales and profit, it is important for e-marketers to choose appropriate
sales promotion strategies to trigger consumers’ responses and, according to
our results, it is not wise to duplicate successful offline strategies in the online
context. E-marketers may benefit from our findings by offering a price discount
for hedonic and inexpensive products, and a bonus pack for utilitarian and
expensive products.

Limitations
In this study, we presented a price discount as 50% off and a bonus pack
as two-for-one. Although these sales promotion strategies are of equivalent
monetary value and have been widely adopted online, the promotion level is
quite high at 50%. Some researchers have suggested that price discounts and
bonus packs are evaluated similarly in the case of low and moderate levels of
promotion. However, price discounts have previously been found to be valued
more at higher levels of price discount (Hardesty & Bearden, 2003). In our study
we also focused on the percentage form of price discount (% off). Previous
results have shown that price discounts in terms of percentage and in terms
of dollars off have different effects on purchase behavior (Chen, Monroe, &
Lou, 1998). These findings should, thus, be interpreted with caution. Future
researchers can examine these alternatives, presenting price discounts as dollars
off at low or moderate levels. Another limitation is that participants were college
students in China and do not represent a diverse population of online shoppers.
Future researchers can invite participants from other backgrounds to represent a
diverse population of online shoppers.

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