Pricing and product adoptionEvidence check: 3.5/5
Sahni, N. S., Zou, D., & Chintagunta, P. K. (2017). Management Science, 63(8). https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2016.2450.
Plain-English take: During the offer period, offers increased average expenditure by $3.03 (37.2%). For your marketing: Measure discount-induced acquisition and spillovers separately from subsidized purchases.
Question: Do targeted emailed discounts only shift price-sensitive purchases, or can they also advertise products and stimulate additional demand?
Design: Seventy field experiments on targeted email offers. Customers of an online platform receiving targeted emailed offers; the accessible abstract excerpt does not state the total customer count.
During the offer period, offers increased average expenditure by $3.03 (37.2%). The effect was larger among customers who had not transacted on the platform in the prior year. Spending also rose by $1.55 in the following week, and the study found cross-category effects on products not covered by an offer.
Management Science · 201710.1287/mnsc.2016.2450Publisher abstract; full text access may vary
Pricing and product adoptionEvidence check: 3.0/5
Leeflang, P. S. H., & Parreño-Selva, J. (2012). Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40(4), 572–586.
Plain-English take: About half of the promotions expanded own-category revenue, particularly deeper supported discounts. For your marketing: When promoting one tier or feature, examine whether demand shifts across the rest of the portfolio.
Question: Do price promotions in one category affect revenues in other product categories, and what conditions moderate those spillovers?
Design: Store-level scanner-data analysis of category demand. Daily store-level retail scanner data across multiple categories; the accessible abstract reports category-level patterns rather than a single consumer sample.
About half of the promotions expanded own-category revenue, particularly deeper supported discounts. A promotion had a 61% probability of affecting at least one other category, usually no more than two; evidence also linked cross-effects to shelf proximity.
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · 201210.1007/s11747-010-0244-zOpen full text and publisher record
Pricing and product adoptionEvidence check: 3.5/5
Iyengar, R., Jedidi, K., Essegaier, S., & Danaher, P. J. (2011). Marketing Science, 30(5), 820–836.
Plain-English take: Compared with pay-per-use pricing, the two-part tariff reduced annual retention by an average 10.5% and yearly usage by 38.7%, after controlling for income effects. For your marketing: Evaluate the behavioral effects of access fees separately from per-use prices.
Question: How do pay-per-use and two-part-tariff pricing affect service retention, usage and profit?
Design: Pricing field experiment and utility-based retention model. Customers of one new telecommunications service in a market experiment; the abstract reports model-based average effects across the experimental tariff conditions.
Compared with pay-per-use pricing, the two-part tariff reduced annual retention by an average 10.5% and yearly usage by 38.7%, after controlling for income effects. Despite these declines, the two-part tariff remained profit-maximizing in the studied setting. Ignoring the tariff-structure effect reduced modeled firm profit by 11%.
Marketing Science · 201110.1287/mksc.1110.0655Publisher abstract
Pricing and product adoptionEvidence check: 2.5/5
Lewis, M. (2006). Journal of Marketing Research, 43(2), 195–203.
Plain-English take: In both datasets, deeper acquisition discounts were associated with lower repeat-buying rates and lower customer asset value. For your marketing: Compare the long-term value of discounted and full-price cohorts, accounting for selection and acquisition cost.
Question: How do acquisition discounts affect the mix and long-term value of customers a firm acquires?
Design: Conceptual model and customer-level analyses in two industries. Customer data from one newspaper and one online grocery retailer; the abstract does not state sample sizes.
In both datasets, deeper acquisition discounts were associated with lower repeat-buying rates and lower customer asset value. The abstract reports that customers acquired with a 35% discount had about half the long-term value of customers acquired without a promotion.
Journal of Marketing Research · 200610.1509/jmkr.43.2.195Publisher abstract
Pricing and product adoptionEvidence check: 3.5/5
Iyengar, R., Park, Y.-H., & Yu, Q. (2022). Journal of Marketing Research, 59(6), 1101–1117.
Plain-English take: Subscription increased customer purchases, with economically meaningful and persistent effects that varied across customers. For your marketing: When studying a paid plan or membership, distinguish benefit-driven usage from behavioral effects of the upfront commitment.
Question: How does paying an upfront fee to join a subscription program affect members' subsequent purchases?
Design: Quasi-experimental customer-level analysis with heterogeneous treatment effects. Members and nonmembers of a retailer or marketplace subscription program; the abstract does not identify the firm or provide sample size.
Subscription increased customer purchases, with economically meaningful and persistent effects that varied across customers. The authors attribute about one-third of the purchase effect to program benefits and the remaining two-thirds to a noneconomic effect consistent with sunk-cost behavior.
Journal of Marketing Research · 202210.1177/00222437221080163Publisher abstract and institutional record
Pricing and product adoptionEvidence check: 3.5/5
Lambrecht, A., & Tucker, C. (2012). Journal of Marketing Research, 49(1), 66–82.
Plain-English take: The field experiment provides evidence that customers prefer contracts that match periods of lower benefits caused by hassle costs with lower payments. For your marketing: Consider whether customers' willingness to pay changes when setup, migration or usage requires effort.
Question: How should firms price when customers anticipate hassle or effort that varies over time?
Design: Field experiment and pricing model. Customers in a service-pricing field experiment; the publisher summary reviewed does not provide the sample size or full industry details.
The field experiment provides evidence that customers prefer contracts that match periods of lower benefits caused by hassle costs with lower payments.
Journal of Marketing Research · 201210.1509/jmr.09.0530Publisher summary and abstract
Pricing and product adoptionEvidence check: 3.5/5
Bawa, K., & Shoemaker, R. (2004). Marketing Science, 23(3), 345–363.
Plain-English take: Unlike coupons, the studied free samples produced measurable long-term sales effects observable up to 12 months later. For your marketing: Separate new demand from timing shifts and substitution when evaluating free access.
Question: Do free samples create incremental sales, and how much comes from purchase acceleration, cannibalization or demand expansion?
Design: Promotion model and two field experiments. Two consumer packaged-goods sampling promotions; the abstract does not state sample sizes or brands.
Unlike coupons, the studied free samples produced measurable long-term sales effects observable up to 12 months later. Effectiveness varied substantially, even between brands in one product category; acceleration, cannibalization and expansion differed across promotions.
Marketing Science · 200410.1287/mksc.1030.0052Publisher and bibliographic abstracts
Pricing and product adoptionEvidence check: 2.5/5
Li, H. (2022). Production and Operations Management, 31(5), 2185–2203.
Plain-English take: The research provides SaaS-specific evidence on how advertising, free-trial usage and their interplay relate to conversion, with message content treated as a distinct marketing factor. For your marketing: Track activation and product usage alongside marketing exposure and message content when studying free-to-paid conversion.
Question: How do marketing touchpoints, message content and product usage relate to free-user conversion in a SaaS business?
Design: Empirical analysis of SaaS user activity, marketing touchpoints, and conversion. SaaS free users and their marketing touchpoints, usage and conversion behavior; the inspected abstract does not give the company name or sample size.
The research provides SaaS-specific evidence on how advertising, free-trial usage and their interplay relate to conversion, with message content treated as a distinct marketing factor.
Production and Operations Management · 202210.1111/poms.13672Publisher abstract; full text access may vary
Pricing and product adoptionEvidence check: 3.0/5
Lambrecht, A., & Misra, K. (2017). Management Science, 63(4), 1150–1165.
Plain-English take: The model suggests that the value of free access depends on advertising monetization and consumer demand conditions; a paid strategy is not necessarily superior simply because it generates direct subscription revenue. For your marketing: This may be useful for separating direct payment from indirect monetization when deciding what to make freely available.
Question: When should an online content provider offer content for free, charge for it, or combine access fees with advertising?
Design: Analytical model of content pricing and advertising revenue. Theoretical analysis of online content providers; there is no empirical customer sample.
The model shows that the value of free access depends on advertising monetization and consumer demand conditions; a paid strategy is not necessarily superior simply because it generates direct subscription revenue.
Management Science · 201710.1287/mnsc.2015.2383Publisher record and author-hosted working paper
Pricing and product adoptionEvidence check: 3.5/5
Danaher, P. J. (2002). Marketing Science, 21(2), 119–138.
Plain-English take: The study demonstrates an empirical approach to evaluating alternative subscription prices using market-experiment evidence rather than relying only on stated preferences or managerial judgment. For your marketing: This is a foundational example of testing prices in market conditions.
Question: How should a firm price a new subscription service using evidence from a market experiment?
Design: Market experiment and demand modeling. A new subscription-service market experiment; the publisher record inspected does not expose enough abstract detail to report the service or sample size.
The study demonstrates an empirical approach to evaluating alternative subscription prices using market-experiment evidence rather than relying only on stated preferences or managerial judgment.
Marketing Science · 200210.1287/mksc.21.2.119.147Publisher record; abstract-level details
Pricing and product adoptionEvidence check: 4.0/5
Gu, X., Kannan, P. K., & Ma, L. (2018). Journal of Marketing, 82(6), 10–27.
Plain-English take: Paperback titles accompanied by an additional premium version had higher sales than control titles. For your marketing: When testing SaaS tiers, consider how a new premium option changes comparison among existing plans.
Question: Can adding another premium option increase demand for an existing paid option when a free version is available?
Design: Randomized field experiment and customer-choice analysis. Book titles offered as free PDFs with paid paperback and additional e-book or hardcover options; the abstract does not report the experiment's sample size.
Paperback titles accompanied by an additional premium version had higher sales than control titles. The lift was stronger for more popular or cheaper titles, and the e-book extension worked better when its price was closer to the paperback price. The authors identify compromise and attraction effects in customer choices.
Journal of Marketing · 201810.1177/0022242918807170Publisher abstract; full text access may vary
Pricing and product adoptionEvidence check: 2.5/5
Nijs, V. R., Dekimpe, M. G., Steenkamp, J.-B. E. M., & Hanssens, D. M. (2001). Marketing Science, 20(1), 1–22.
Plain-English take: The research estimates category-demand expansion effects rather than only brand switching and tests how marketing intensity and competition moderate promotion response. For your marketing: When discounting, separate category growth from switching between vendors or purchase timing.
Question: Under what conditions do price promotions expand demand for an entire product category in the short and long run?
Design: Longitudinal category-level econometric analysis. 560 consumer product categories in Dutch supermarkets; the data include prices, promotions, advertising, distribution and new-product activity.
The research estimates category-demand expansion effects rather than only brand switching and tests how marketing intensity and competition moderate promotion response. The abstract emphasizes that category expansion is conditional on market context.
Marketing Science · 200110.1287/mksc.20.1.1.10197Publisher and bibliographic abstracts; full text access may vary
Pricing and product adoptionEvidence check: 2.5/5
Foubert, B., & Gijsbrechts, E. (2016). Marketing Science, 35(5), 810–826.
Plain-English take: The abstract characterizes free trials as a double-edged promotion: trial timing and how intensively consumers use the service during the trial matter to effectiveness, particularly while quality is uncertain and changing. For your marketing: Design trials around the user's chance to experience core value and the maturity of the product.
Question: When do free trials help adoption of a high-tech service, and when can a poor early trial experience undermine it?
Design: Empirical structural model and policy simulations. A rich customer dataset for an interactive digital television service, including trial subscriptions, adoption and usage behavior. The abstract does not report the number of customers.
The abstract characterizes free trials as a double-edged promotion: trial timing and how intensively consumers use the service during the trial matter to effectiveness, particularly while quality is uncertain and changing.
Marketing Science · 201610.1287/mksc.2015.0973Publisher abstract; full text access may vary
Pricing and product adoptionEvidence check: 3.5/5
Cheng, H. K., Li, S., & Liu, Y. (2015). Optimal Software Free Trial Strategy: Limited Version, Time-locked, or Hybrid?. Production and Operations Management.
Plain-English take: The optimal trial format depends on network externalities, consumer uncertainty and product characteristics; the paper derives conditions under which limited, time-locked or hybrid trials are preferred. For a SaaS founder: Treat trial format as a product-design choice, not merely a duration choice; map whether collaboration/network value and uncertainty favor feature limits, time limits or a hybrid, then test empirically.
Question: Under what product and network conditions should a software company use a feature-limited, time-limited, or hybrid free trial?
Design: Analytical model of software free-trial design incorporating network externalities and consumer uncertainty; compares limited-version, time-locked and hybrid trials.. Theoretical software-product market; no human or firm sample.
The optimal trial format depends on network externalities, consumer uncertainty and product characteristics; the paper derives conditions under which limited, time-locked or hybrid trials are preferred.
Production and Operations Management · 201510.1111/poms.12248Publisher abstract directly retrieved; full-text access not established