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This study proposed a mixed linear modeling framework for revealing the average treatment effects of coupon promotions as well as for figuring out what kind of customers are more responsive to coupon promotions. The analysis used detailed data on 2,469 households who are frequent shoppers at a retailer over one year. A series of models starting from fixed parameters OLS regression to more flexible random coefficient models were built. The results showed that receiving more coupon promotions does not lead to higher spending among households. None of the available demographic characteristics was significantly linearly related to the responsiveness to coupon promotions according the initial model with cross-level interaction terms. However, exploratory analysis of random slopes with the help of a regression tree allowed to correct the specification, which allowed confirming that people aged 25+ with annual household income exceeding $25,000 are more responsive, yet their response is insignificantly different from zero.

Titanium alloys are advanced lightweight materials, indispensable for many critical applications 1 , 2 . The mainstay of the titanium industry is the α–β titanium alloys, which are formulated through alloying additions that stabilize the α and β phases 3 – 5 . Our work focuses on harnessing two of the most powerful stabilizing elements and strengtheners for α–β titanium alloys, oxygen and iron 1 – 5 , which are readily abundant. However, the embrittling effect of oxygen 6 , 7 , described colloquially as ‘the kryptonite to titanium’ 8 , and the microsegregation of iron 9 have hindered their combination for the development of strong and ductile α–β titanium–oxygen–iron alloys. Here we integrate alloy design with additive manufacturing (AM) process design to demonstrate a series of titanium–oxygen–iron compositions that exhibit outstanding tensile properties. We explain the atomic-scale origins of these properties using various characterization techniques. The abundance of oxygen and iron and the process simplicity for net-shape or near-net-shape manufacturing by AM make these α–β titanium–oxygen–iron alloys attractive for a diverse range of applications. Furthermore, they offer promise for industrial-scale use of off-grade sponge titanium or sponge titanium–oxygen–iron 10 , 11 , an industrial waste product at present. The economic and environmental potential to reduce the carbon footprint of the energy-intensive sponge titanium production 12 is substantial. Combining alloy design with additive manufacturing process design creates α–β titanium–oxygen–iron alloys that are both strong and ductile, with the potential to revitalize off-grade sponge titanium and thereby reduce the carbon footprint of the titanium industry.

The unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 has triggered a worldwide economic recession. Consequently, governments are pursuing different stimulus packages to alleviate the resulting pressures. This study examines one such program intended to enhance consumer spending during an economic downturn. In 2015, the Japanese government implemented a discount shopping coupon scheme, offering a 20% discount on purchases. This study aims to identify the groups of consumers who responded most to the discount shopping coupon scheme. To this end, we examine the demographic and socio-economic factors associated with the purchasers of discount shopping coupons in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Using IV probit models, we show that middle-aged people, homemakers, household balance of financial assets, and short-term attitude are positively associated with the purchase of the coupons. Financial literacy reflects a negative association with the purchase of the coupons for respondents over the age of 40, whereas household income shows a positive association for middle-aged respondents. Our results imply that programs designed to improve consumer consumption may not be effective as blanket solutions that are applied to everyone indiscriminately, but rather seem to show efficiency when tailored to different people according to their demographic and/or socio-economic characteristics.

The use of coupons delivered by mobile phone, so-called \"m-coupons,\" is growing rapidly. In this study, the authors analyze consumer response to m-coupons for a two-year trial at a large shopping mall. Approximately 8,500 people were recruited to a panel and received three text-message m-coupons whenever they \"swiped\" their mobile phone at the mall entrances, with downstream redemption recorded. Almost 144,000 m-coupons were delivered during the trial, representing 38 stores that supplied 134 different coupons. The authors find that an important feature of m-coupons is where and when they are delivered, with location and time of delivery significantly influencing redemption. How long the m-coupons are valid (expiry length) is also important because redemption times for m-coupons are much shorter than for traditional coupons. This finding suggests that their expiration length should be shortened to help signal time urgency. Nevertheless, traditional coupon features, such as face value, still dominate m-coupon effectiveness, as does the product type, with snack food coupons being particularly effective.

With the cooperation of a large mobile service provider, we conduct a novel field experiment that simultaneously randomizes the prices of two competing movie theaters using mobile coupons. Unlike studies that vary only one firm’s prices, our experiment allows us to account for competitor response. We test mobile targeting based on consumers’ real-time and historic locations, allowing us to evaluate popular mobile coupon strategies in a competitive market. The experiment reveals substantial profit gains from mobile discounts during an off-peak period. Both firms could create incremental profits by targeting their competitor’s location. However, the returns to such “geoconquesting” are reduced when the competitor also launches its own targeting campaign. We combine our experimentally generated data with a demand model to analyze optimal pricing in a static Bertrand–Nash equilibrium. Interestingly, competitive responses raise the profitability of behavioral targeting where symmetric pricing incentives soften price competition. By contrast, competitive responses lower the profitability of geographic targeting, where asymmetric pricing incentives toughen price competition. If we endogenize targeting choice, both firms would choose behavioral targeting in equilibrium, even though more granular geobehavioral targeting combining both real-time and historic locations is possible. These findings demonstrate the importance of considering competitor response when piloting novel price-targeting mechanisms. Data are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2017.1042 .

[Display omitted] •Product-specific price discounts influence customers’ total spending following a U-shaped pattern.•Product-specific price discounts influence purchase quantity positively though at a decreasing rate.•Order coupons positively influence total spending and purchase quantity at an increasing rate.•Customers’ expectations of discounts influence purchasing following a U-shaped pattern.•Customers’ expectations of discounts play a moderating role in influencing customers’ total spending. This paper examines the influence of a permanent discount strategy on customer purchase behavior, i.e., purchase incidence in each week, purchase quantity (in units), and total order spending (in CNY). Permanent discounts are defined as discounts continuously provided by retailers. We identify two types of permanent discounts, namely, product-specific price discounts (PD) and order coupons (OD, which can be redeemed for a total order). We collect transactional data from a Chinese online retailer and empirically examine the effects of the two types of permanent discounts and customers’ expectations of PD and OD. We find nonlinear relationships between permanent discounts and customer purchase behavior. PDs negatively influence spending when they are lower than 19% but show a positive effect beyond this threshold, hence depicting a U-shaped relationship. They also affect purchase quantity positively but at a decreasing rate. Customer expectations of PD influence purchase incidence, spending, and purchase quantity following a U-shaped patter with a positive influence appearing when PD expectations are high than 31%, 27%, and 18% respectively. On the other hand, ODs influence spending and purchase quantity positively at an increasing rate. Customer expectations of OD influence purchase incidence, spending, and purchase quantity following a U-shaped relationship where the positive influence on purchase incidence shows beyond OD expectations of 426 CNY, and the positive effect appearing on spending and purchase quantity when these expectations are higher than 34 CNY. We also find that customer expectations of discounts interact with current discount levels in their influence on spending. Combining these results and considering that order coupons negatively affect the profit margin of the total basket, we suggest that retailers should offer order coupons with relatively low value but product-specific price discounts with high discount depth.

Cost considerations provide patients and physicians with difficult decisions balancing efficacy, side effects,and complexity with cost of prescriptions. Impact of cost, with and without use of manufacturer's coupons, will be considered using a cost sensitive decision support tool. Methods: Path, a clinical decision support tool for Type 2 Diabetes, was developed based on patient impact of efficacy, cost, implementation difficulty, comorbidities, and side effects. Outcomes were measured for cost, projected A1c, number of medications, and...

Modern online retailing practices provide consumers with new types of real-time information that can potentially increase demand. In particular, showing sales information to a customer can increase certainty about product quality, inducing consumers to herd. This effect can be particularly salient for experience goods due to their quality being inherently highly uncertain. Social media word-of-mouth (WOM) can increase product awareness as product information spreads via social media, increasing demand directly while amplifying existing quality signals such as past sales. This study examines the mechanisms behind the strategy of facilitating herding and the strategy of integrating social media platforms to understand the potential complementarities between the two strategies. We conduct empirical analysis using data from Groupon.com, which sells goods in a fast cycle format of “daily deals.” We find that facilitating herding and integrating social media platforms are complements that generate sales, supporting the idea that it is beneficial to combine the two strategies on social media platforms. Furthermore, we find that herding is more salient for experience goods, consistent with our hypothesized mechanisms, while the effect of social media WOM is similar for experience goods and search goods.

The value of promotional marketing and word-of-mouth (WOM) is well recognized, but few studies have compared the effects of these two types of information in online settings. This research examines the effect of marketing efforts and online WOM on product sales by measuring the effects of online coupons, sponsored keyword search, and online reviews. It aims to understand the relationship between firms' promotional marketing and WOM in the context of a third party review platform. Using a three-year panel data set from one of the biggest restaurant review websites in China, the study finds that both online promotional marketing and reviews have a significant impact on product sales, which suggests promotional marketing on third party review platforms is still an effective marketing tool. This research further explores the interaction effects between WOM and promotional marketing when these two types of information coexist. The results demonstrate a substitute relationship between the WOM volume and coupon offerings, but a complementary relationship between WOM volume and keyword advertising.