The “Deal-Prone” Consumer

Abstract

Deal proneness is a function of both the consumer's buying behavior and the frequency with which a given brand is sold on a deal basis. A method is developed for combining these factors in a statistical measure of deal proneness for an individual consumer. Through regression analysis four consumer variables are identified as having a significant influence on the Deal Proneness Index, but these variables explain only a small percentage of total variation in the Index. The findings raise some doubt about the ability of consumer deals to accomplish the manufacturer's promotional objectives.