Miranda, Mario J and Konya, Laszlo (2006) Promoting brands of perishable items on the promise of generous availability of consumption time. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 14 (3). pp. 238-248. ISSN 0967-3237

Abstract

If retailers are apologetic about their merchandise being close to expiry dates and consequently offer it on promotion deals, there is no reason to believe that they cannot be boastful when the items being offered are in pristine condition. This paper prospects the potential of positioning products on the basis of the ample availability of consumption time until use-by date. This research examines the attitudes and behaviour of shoppers to the use-by dates of two product categories, namely, food products that require to be refrigerated to maintain their prescribed shelf life, and food products that can be stored under ambient temperature. It is clear from this study that these consumers' approach to label/packaging information when purchasing short-lived products is different from when purchasing products that do not have to be stored in refrigerated conditions. There is no evidence that shoppers change their purchase behaviour for their preferred items when they have insufficient consumption time, even if prices are discounted. In addition, use-by date prone consumers are not prepared to buy smaller packs of their preferred perishable products with short available shelf life as an interim purchase. Instead, they prefer to switch to an alternative brand with adequate available consumption time. It is suggested that weaker brands of perishable items that can promise ample consumption time would encourage those who are perceptive to use-by dates to try them out.

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