The perception of price discounts according to consumer’s characteristics

The main goal of this paper is to analyse how purchase at discount price affects the consumer’s perception of price as a function of his/her personal characteristics. To achieve this, we develop a theoretical model based on the academic literature that incorporates the effect of using price discounts on the process by which perceived price is formed. To contrast the theoretical model, we perform an empirical investigation of the purchase of a package tour. Segmentation of the sample according to the level of price perception is performed by means of a cluster analysis. This analysis enables us to identify two groups of individuals with different perceptions of price and different demographic characteristics. The contrast of the theoretical model is performed for each segment obtained in the cluster analysis by means of structural equations methodology. The results obtained indicate that when individuals with different personal characteristics evaluate a package tour, they: (1) perceive the monetary price differently; (2) have different thresholds for acceptance of prices; and (3) are affected differently by the use of price discounts. The results obtained are useful for good management of firms’ price policies and their promotional tools.