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easy as pi: shoppers more likely to open wallets for ‘special day-themed promotions’

special day-themed promotions may be seeing more success than other, more standard sales, according to new research.

by dave yasvinski

oct 4 2022

3 minute read

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shoppers spend more money for pi day than standard sales

a new study explores the effectiveness of these themed events and the role the perception of creativity plays in consumer behaviour. getty

a new study has found that consumers are more inclined to spend money on promotions tied to special days than the standard holiday fare they’ve seen for years.

while many people are familiar with traditional sales events, such as back to school and black friday deals, the research is the first to examine the growing use of special day-themed promotions, such as pi day on march 14, mar10 day on march 10 and star wars day on may 4. the study, published in the journal of consumer psychology , explores the effectiveness of these themed events and the role the perception of creativity plays in consumer behaviour.

“we found that special day-themed sales promotions lead consumers to be more likely to use the discounts to make a purchase compared to the more standard promotions,” said daniel zane , co-author of the paper and assistant professor of marketing at lehigh university in pennsylvania. “we also discovered that the positive consumer response to special day-themed promotions is essentially driven by consumers’ rewarding marketers for their creativity in providing a way to celebrate the special day.”

as part of the study, researchers randomly presented participants with one of two versions of a promotion: one related to a special theme and the other offered a more standard promotion. they found consumers were more likely to make a purchase when the same deal was framed as, for example, a national picnic day sale than a more typical annual one day sale.

in another experiment, researchers partnered with a company to send out a 25 per cent email discount to participants. recipients were almost twice as likely to click on the link if the promotion was tied to the celebration of the company’s mascot dog than if the company made no mention of their fluffy friend. this effect was consistent for national special days as well as those more personal to the consumer, such as the anniversary of their first purchase with a company.

but while consumers generally responded more favourably to discounts tied to special days, researchers found the promotion must be both original and appropriate to achieve the desired result. a spa pedicure on national barefoot day would fit the bill, for example, but a clothing discount on a national food day would not.

according to researchers, a low fit between company and coupon “ultimately hurts purchase intentions” and can generate negative thoughts about a brand. if there is a high fit between company and coupon, however, there’s plenty of money to be made.

“perhaps the most surprising aspect of this research was what we found to be the psychological driver of consumers’ positive response to special day-themed promotions,” zane said. “they actually think about how the marketer who created the special day-themed promotion was creative in providing a way to celebrate the special day. in essence, consumers then reward marketers for their creativity by being more likely to use a special day discount to make a purchase from that company.”

researchers hope this look behind the curtain will benefit marketers and consumers alike. “the findings suggest that linking a discount to a company-generated special day can positively impact real customer behaviour,” zane said. “it is possible that consumers who receive special day-themed discounts may feel they are unique or in an exclusive subset of consumers receiving the promotion.

“for consumers, this work can perhaps help them reflect on the many hidden forces that shape our marketplace behaviours. being aware of this might help curb unnecessary or impulsive purchases.”

dave yasvinski is a writer with  healthing.ca

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dave yasvinski

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easy as pi: shoppers more likely to open wallets for ‘special day-themed promotions’

special day-themed promotions may be seeing more success than other, more standard sales, according to new research.

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