Pricing and monetization · Empirical study testing free-trial types and ratings in consumer-software sampling.
Effects of Different Types of Free Trials and Ratings in Sampling of Consumer Software: An Empirical Study
Y-J. Lee, Y. Tan (2013). Effects of Different Types of Free Trials and Ratings in Sampling of Consumer Software: An Empirical Study. Journal of Management Information Systems. https://doi.org/10.2753/MIS0742-1222300209.
Plain-English take
Trial format and ratings affect software sampling/adoption outcomes, demonstrating that “free trial” design and social information jointly matter. For your marketing: Use the study to frame a pricing or packaging hypothesis and identify outcomes to measure; estimate effects with your own customer mix and willingness-to-pay evidence.
How much weight to give this
2.5/5 Evidence needs cautious interpretation
The 1–5 evidence-check score is a practical reading aid, not a formal peer review or a probability that a conclusion is true. It combines design strength (2 points), sample reporting (1), comparison/control clarity (1), and how much of the paper could be checked (1). Access affects how confidently this directory can assess a study, not the study's underlying quality. Blinding is reported separately because it is not relevant to every design.
Empirical study testing free-trial types and ratings in consumer-software sampling.
Consumer software sampling; users exposed to alternative free-trial formats and rating information.
Judged from the publisher-described design and comparison; inspect the paper for complete analysis.
Publisher page and abstract were retrieved directly; full text was not assumed open.
Double-blind? Blinding was not established from the retrieved publisher record.
Research question
What the authors investigated
How do free-trial format and ratings influence consumer software sampling and adoption?
Design
Empirical study testing free-trial types and ratings in consumer-software sampling.
Sample and setting
Consumer software sampling; users exposed to alternative free-trial formats and rating information.
Reported result
What the study found
Trial format and ratings affect software sampling/adoption outcomes, demonstrating that “free trial” design and social information jointly matter.
This is a paraphrase of the source. Check the original paper for definitions, estimates, statistical uncertainty and analysis details.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
Consumer-software sampling context and experimental/task setting may not generalize to ongoing SaaS subscriptions; rating effects depend on the displayed information.
Possible founder application
Use the study to frame a pricing or packaging hypothesis and identify outcomes to measure; estimate effects with your own customer mix and willingness-to-pay evidence.
Evidence access
Publisher abstract/metadata retrieved; full text may require access.
The publisher-indexed reference identifies the exact title, authors, empirical-study designation, journal and DOI. Direct publisher-page retrieval was recorded on 2026-10-09; this profile uses the publisher abstract/metadata and does not claim independent review of unavailable full text.
If only an abstract or metadata was available, the profile is limited to claims supported there. A paper's paywall does not change its evidentiary status, but it limits what we can substantiate from accessible text.