Interpret Flawed Price Memory as Satisfaction

When your customers are highly satisfied, they’re more likely to say the price they paid was fair. It turns out that one reason for this could be that highly satisfied customers don’t remember well what they paid. Researchers at University of Mannheim, University of Nuremberg-Erlangen, and RWE Consulting GmbH say it’s a function of time since the purchase.

• Shortly after making the purchase, the consumer who experiences high satisfaction with the product and the retail experience might recall the price quite accurately. Then the memory of the precise price fades. 
• It’s the memory for the actual price which fades. The sense of whether the price was high, medium, or low, fair or unfair, stays much the same as the time between purchase and recollection increases. 
• With lower levels of satisfaction, any memory for the actual price doesn’t fade as much with the passage of time. 

     Putting this together, it appears that one indication customers are highly satisfied is that, when they return to your store, their memories for the precise prices previously paid for items is somewhat fuzzy. Customer satisfaction is, in turn, an opening for you to offer the returning shoppers upgraded opportunities to buy what will fit their needs. The fuzzy memory facilitates acceptance of increased price points and shopping basket totals.
     Satisfaction also increases the chances your customer will tell friends and family they should purchase the items for themselves at your store. In response, a question from these others could easily be, “How much did you pay for it?”
     Researchers at University of Alberta, University of Calgary, and University of British Columbia found that when people believe they might have been able to wrangle a better deal on a product or service, this conclusion leads to them feeling a threat to their self-esteem and their self-image. They fear not only that others will see them as being suckers, but also that they’ll see themselves that way. So they lie, intentionally or unintentionally.
     Since a natural follow-up question is, “Where did you get such a good price?,” you—the retailer—should expect people to come into your store expecting deals you’re not offering.
     How nice to have them come to your store! Be ready to turn the new shopper’s confusion about pricing into conviction to make a purchase from you. Show what you do have to offer, renewing the cycle of high satisfaction and fuzzy memories.

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

Click below for more: 
Expect Shoppers to Expect Nonexistent Discounts