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Location does matter: the effect of display locations of regular price and sale price on consumers’ responses in comparative price advertising

Abstract This research investigates how the display locations of regular and sale prices in comparative price advertising impact perceived quality, deal attractiveness, and purchase intention. Based on the time representation associated with horizontal location, we suggest a congruency effect between time-laden prices (i.e., regular price, sale price) and horizontal location (left vs. right), namely, regular price-left and sale price-right, through three studies. The first study confirms that time-laden words or prices are associated with the horizontal location. More importantly, the second and third studies examine whether consumers exhibit a more favorable evaluation toward price promotions when the time-laden prices are compatibly (vs. incompatibly) displayed with their spatial representation of time. We also propose and confirm a dual mediation model as a psychological mechanism. Specifically, the effect of regular and sale price locations on purchase intentions is simultaneously mediated by the perceived quality of the promoted product and the attractiveness of the deal. The theoretical and managerial implications of this study are also discussed.