左數(shù)效果及消費者人格特質(zhì)對於消費品價格認知的影響

左數(shù)效果及消費者人格特質(zhì)對於消費品價格認知的影響Theeffectsofleft-digitphenomenonandconsumercharacteristicsontheperceptionofpricesforconsumptiongoods龔昶元朝陽科技大學 企業(yè)管理系 副教授李延熹朝陽科技大學 應(yīng)用外語系 助理教授游曙吏朝陽科技大學 應(yīng)用外語系 研究生AbstractInordertoincreasetheirsales,companiesendeavortolureandstimulateconsumerstopurchaseproductsthroughpromotionalactivities,particularlymonetarypromotions.However,notallmonetarypromotionsinfluenceconsumerstopurchaseproductsbecausedifferencesinconsumercharacteristics,suchasneedforcognition(NFC),createdifferentattitudestowardpromotions.Thequestionofwhetherconsumerstreatanine-endingpricetobecheaperthanazero-endingpricehasbeendiscussedforlong.Recentresearchesindicatethattheleft-digiteffecthasasignificantimpactontherevenueoffirms.Anumberofresearcherssuggestthatpriceswithleft-digiteffectsincreasetherevenuesofcompanies.Althoughmonetarypromotionssuchasleft-digiteffectandnine-endingpricesinfluenceconsumerstopurchasemore,NFCmaybeoneoftheimportantelementsthataffectthepurchasedecisionofconsumers.NFCasoneoftheelementsthataffectthepurchasedecisionofconsumershasbeenrobustlydiscussed;thisstudyinvolvesafurtherresearchofthequestionofwhetherNFCinfluencesconsumerswhoareaffectedbytheleft-digiteffect.ConsumerswithhighandlowNFCexhibitdifferentpurchasingbehaviors.Inotherwords,differentlevelsofNFCcauseconsumerstoselectdifferentproducts.Differentconsiderationsandattitudestowardconsumptioncanbeclassifiedintohighandlowpricecognition.ThisresearchinvestigatestheviewpointthatdifferentmonetarypromotionscausedifferentperceptionsofpricebecauseofdifferentlevelsofNFCamongconsumers.Forthepurposeofthisstudy,thequestionnairesurveymethodisemployed.Fourhundredandfiftynineundergraduateuniversitystudents,135malesand314femalesintheagegroupof17to25,fromtheDepartmentofBusinessAdministrationparticipatedinthesurvey.Theresultsofthestudyprovidethefoundationfortheframework.WefindthatdifferentlevelsofNFCaffectthepurchasinginclinationofconsumers.Notallleft-digiteffectsencourageconsumerstopurchaseproducts;left-digiteffectsinfluenceconsumersonlyiftheyhavealowNFC.High-NFCconsumerstendnottobeaffectedbyleft-digiteffect.Keywords:Left-digiteffect,NFC,promotionIntroductionInordertoincreasetheirsales,differentcompaniesendeavortostimulateandlureconsumerstopurchasetheirproductsthroughpromotionalactivities,particularlymonetarypromotion.AccordingtoKotler(2003),McCarthyclassifiedmarketingtoolsintofourgroups,namely,product,price,place,andpromotion.Promotioncomprisessalespromotion,advertising,salesforce,publicrelations,anddirectmarketing.Manycompaniesusepromotionalactivitiestostimulateconsumerstopurchasetheirproductsbecauseconsumersliketopurchaseproductswhenpromotionaloffersareprovidedbycompanies.However,differentconsumersmaybeinfluencedbydifferenttypesofmonetarypromotionsonaccountofdifferentconsumercharacteristics,suchasNFC;thisdifferencemaycausethemtohavedifferentattitudestowardpromotionalactivities.Numerousresearchers(ThomasandMorwitz,2005;Coulter,2001;AndersonandSimester,2003)haveresearchedtheleft-digiteffectandnine-endingorodd-endingprice.Researchershavefoundthatconsumerstendtopurchaseproductsiftheyperceivethatthepriceisonecentlower(e.g.,$2.99vs.$3.00).Furthermore,consumersreadthedigitsofapricefromlefttoright;therefore,theyarelikelytounderestimatetheprice(Coulter,2001).Althoughmonetarypromotionsuchasleft-digiteffectandnine-endingpriceaffectsconsumers,therebyleadingthemtoincreasethequantityofproductspurchased,NFCmaybeoneoftheimportantelementsthataffectthepurchasedecisionofconsumers.NFCisthetendencyforpeopletoengageinaswellasenjoythinking;furthermore,NFCfocusesontheorientationofconsumerstowardmotivation.ConsumerswithhighorlowNFCwilldisplaydifferentconsumerbehaviors.Inotherwords,NFCinfluencesconsumersintheirselectionofproducts.Suchfactorisimportanttomarketersbecausetheyaffectthereactionsofconsumerstomarketingstrategies.Alargenumberofcompaniesadoptvariousmeasuresinordertoencourageconsumerstopurchasetheirproductsthroughmonetarypromotion;however,differenttypesofmonetarypromotionmightinfluenceindividualconsumersdifferently.Onthebasisofthedifferentelementsunderconsiderationandattitudestowardconsumption,consumptioncanbeclassifiedintohighandlowpricecognitions.Therefore,thisstudyclassifiesconsumersintotwodifferentlevelsofpricecognitions:highandlow.Bearingthisclassificationinmind,researchingsuchmarketbehaviorproducesthequestionofwhetherdifferentkindsofmonetarypromotionaffectthepricecognitionofconsumersduetodifferentlevelsofNFC.Thisresearchaidscompaniesinunderstandingthemannerinwhichthemostsuitablepricepolicycanbedecideduponfordifferenttypesofconsumers.LiteratureReview1.Left-digitEffectThisstudyaimstoinvestigatewhetherconsumersperceivepriceswithalowerleftdigittobealotlowerthanpriceswiththesameleftdigit(e.g.,$230and$199vs.$240and$200).Theleft-digiteffectcanbedefinedasfollows:“Theleft-digiteffectreferstotheobservationthatusinganine-endingversusazero-endingprice,forexample,$2.99versus$3.00,changestheleft-mostdigit”(ThomasandMorwitz,2005).Monroe(2003)indicatedthatconsumersdonotnoticesmallpricechanges.AndersonandSimester(2003)suggestedthateventhoughanine-endingpricechangesthepriceofproductsbyonlyonecent,thelastdigitofapricehasasignificantimpactonearningrevenues.StivingandWiner(1997)classifiedexplanationsassociatedwithimageeffectsandleveleffects.Theimageeffectcontainsqualityandpriceimage.Quality-imageeffectcausesconsumerstoperceivethatproductsofpriceswithnine-endingarelow-qualityproducts.Asforpriceimage,theimageeffectcausesconsumerstobelievethatthepriceofaproduct,storeandsoforthisbasedonright-handdigits.Therefore,imageeffectsareconcernedwithfirmbehaviororintentionstowardconsumers.Forexample,theimageeffectofpricecausesconsumerstoregardnine-endingpricesasapricediscount.Employingroundnumbersasreferencepointsenablescompaniestogiveasmallamountbacktoconsumersifcompaniesadoptthepolicyofnine-endingprices,whicharelowerthanroundnumbers(Kreul,1982).Forexample,consumersmayinterpret$19asa$1discountfrom$20.Ontheotherhand,leveleffectscausetheperceptionofpricesamongconsumerstobecomedistorted;thus,underestimatingtheprice.Itcausesconsumerstounderestimatethefactthatanine-endingpriceismerelyoneunitlowerthanazero-endingprice.Consumerstendtoroundthepricesuchas$3.99to$3.00(Hollander,1966;Schindler,1984).Tomaximizeprofits,companiesmayselect$3.99ratherthan$3.33orpricesbelow$3.99.Moreover,limitedmemorycapacityisalsooneofcomponentstocauseleveleffectbecauseconsumerswouldmostlikelymemorythefirstdigitsofprices.Dehaene(1993)indicatedthatanumberextendsfromlefttoright.GiventheLRorientation(Coulter,2001),left-mostdigitsarethefirstnumbersthatconsumersread,therebymakingtheleftorderofapricetobethefirsttobenoticed.Presumably,iftheorderofnumbersisreversed,LRorientationmightdisappear.Theleft-digiteffectreferstotheobservationthat,forexample,$799vs.$800ismerelyachangeoftheleft-mostdigitratherthanonlytheright-mostdigit.Inotherwords,itisachangeintheleftdigitratherthanaone-dollarreductioninprice.Theperceptionthatcausesconsumerstotransformmulti-digitnumbersintomentalmagnitudesistheso-calledanalogmodel.Underspecificconditions,theleft-mostdigitexertsarelativelygreatereffectthantheotherdigitsbecausetheleft-mostdigitchangesfrom8to7,whilethechangeintheright-mostdigit(zero-endingversusnine-ending)areperceivedashardlysignificant.Therefore,someconsumersperceive$799aslessexpensivethan$800.Multi-digitnumbersareencodedasananalogrepresentation(Dehaene,1997;MonroeandLee,1999).AsDehaene(1997)indicated,individualswhoassessthenumberswithquantitativemeaningusuallytendtospontaneouslymapthemontoaninternalmagnitudeinthecaseoftwomulti-digitnumbers.Thisstudyresearchestheorientationofconsumerstowardtheleft-mostdigitinordertoinvestigatethepricecognitionofconsumers.Anumberofresearchershaveshowntheeffectsofleft-digitandlast-digitprices(ThomasandMorwitz,2005;Coulter,2001;AndersonandSimester,2003)withafocusonleft-mostandnine-endingprices.Therefore,thisresearchaimstostudyconsumerswhoenjoyinvestigatingpricesorsecuringgreaterbenefits;inotherwords,someconsumersaremoreinclinedtowardpurchasingproductswhosepriceshavealowerleftdigit,whilesomeenjoycomparingdifferentprices(withlowerleftdigitandwiththesameleftdigit)inordertoensurethatitisagoodbargainbasedontheirperceptionoftheprice.Rationalconsumersshopmorefrequentlybutpurchaseproductsinsmallerquantitieswhenfacedwithhigherpricevariability(Ho,TangandBell,1998).Someresearchers,suchasShen(2004),investigatedconsumerswhoperformactionrationallybasedonthetheoryofreasonedactioninordertounderstandtheresponseoftheconsumerstowardcouponpromotion.Therefore,thisstudyassumesthatsomeconsumerswilldisplaypurchasebehaviorrationallytowardtheleft-digiteffect.2.NeedForCognition(NFC)NFCisthetendencyforpeopletoengageinaswellasenjoythinking.Cohen,StotlandandWolfe(1955)proposedtheconceptofNFCanddescribedthatNFCistheneedtostructurepertinentsituationsinmeaningfulandintegratedforms.Inaddition,PettyandCacioppo(1986)demonstratedthatNFCisnotrelatedtothetraditionalconceptofintelligence.High-NFCconsumersaremorelikelytopossessastrongerintrinsicmotivationtoengageincognitionandattempttoreduceanyinherenterrors.Therefore,whenpeoplefeelmotivatedbecauseoftheinterest,enjoyment,challenge,etc.,oftheworktheyindulgein,theyarecompelledbyintrinsicmotivation.Onthecontrary,low-NFCconsumersdonotenjoythinking.HighNFCindividualsarepronetousemessagecontentforjudgment(PettyandCacioppo,1982)thanlowNFCindividualsdo(Haugtvedt,PettyandCacioppo,1992).TheNeedforCognitionscalerangesfromlowtohighneedsforcognition.AsLiebermannandFlint-Goor(1996)stressed,high-NFCconsumerstendnottobemanipulatedbydifferentinformationregardingvariousproducts.Inaddition,advertisersmanipulatethemessagestheyconveytoconsumersbyhighlightingtheuniquecharacteristicsoftheproductsthatmayfindfavorwiththeconsumers,therebyencouragingconsumerstopurchasetheirproducts.Thisistheso-calledperipheraleffectofELM(ElaborationLikelihoodModel).PettyandCacioppo(1983)believedthatELMwillinfluencetheattitudesandreactionsofconsumerstowardadvertisement.Therefore,NFCisasignificantfactorthatmayinfluencethepurchasedecisionofconsumers.Further,PettyandCacioppo(1986)alsoindicatedthatNFCiscognitiontotheextentthatindividualswillengageinitonaccountoftheirintrinsicmotivation.Basedonthistheory,numerousresearchesassociatedwithNFCverifythathigh-NFCconsumerspossessstrongerintrinsicmotivation.Theyengageincognitioninordertoreducethepossibilityofanyerrorstheymightcommitwhentheyarepurchasingproducts.Ontheotherhand,low-NFCconsumersdonotindulgeintheevaluationprocess.ParkandHastak(1994)indicatedthatlow-NFCconsumersarereluctantwhenfacedwithcognitiveendeavorsandwouldratheravoidarduousdiscussionsordeliberationswithregardtocertainaspects;therefore,tendtobeeasilyinfluencedbyothers.3.RelationshipbetweenNFCandPromotionAccordingtoexistingliterature,thelevelofNFCinfluencesconsumerbehavior.High-NFCconsumerswillretainproductcharacteristicslongerthanlow-NFCconsumers.AsPettyandCacioppo(1983)suggested,NFCcanbedividedintothefollowingtwocategories:thecentertypeandtheperipheraltype.High-NFCconsumersgenerallyenjoythinkingandanalyzingthepriceinformationofproductswhenevaluatingapromotionalactivity;thisistheso-calledcentertype.However,low-NFCconsumersarelikelytobeluredbypromotionalactivitiesandonlyjudgeproductsbasedonsimplecluesandprinciples;thisistheperipheraltype.Pierre,BrainandGilles(2000)foundthatmonetaryandnon-monetarypromotionsprovideconsumerseitherhedonicorutilitarianbenefits.Hedonicbenefitscomprisevalueexpression,entertainment,andexploration.Ontheotherhand,utilitarianbenefitsincludesavingmoney,gettingbetterqualityproducts,andimprovingshoppingconvenience.Inadditiontohedonicandutilitarianvalues,NFCisoneoftheelementsofconsumerpsychology.AsLiebermannandFlint-Goor(1996)suggested,high-NFCconsumersarenotlikelytobeintimidatedbythediverseinformationtheyareexposedtoafterreviewingavarietyofproductsandpreferdifferenttypesofpromotions.Utilitarianbenefitssignificantlyeffecthigh-NFCconsumers(Kang,2003).Inotherwords,high-NFCconsumersgivemoreweighttoutilitarianbenefits;thisimpliesthattheyconsidertheutilityofproductswhenpurchasingnewproducts(Kang,2003).However,someconsumers respond to promotionalsignals anddisregard price differences. Low-NFCconsumers respond topromotionalsignalswithoutbeingmindfulofpricereductions,whereashigh-NFCconsumersrespondtoapromotionalsignalonlywhenthereisasubstantivepricereduction(Inman,McAlisterandHoyer,1990).AccordingtoInman,Peter,andRaghubir(1997),promotions with arestriction encourage low-NFCconsumerstopurchase products, whereashigh-NFC consumerstend not to beaffectedbypromotionalrestrictionsorpurchaselimits,suchastimelimitation. NFCasapredictorofinformationprocessingamongconsumershasbeenrobustly demonstratedinnumerouscontexts.This study presents afurther research into the relationshipbetweenNFCandpromotion.Giventhepreviousdiscussion,thehypothesisis:Comparedwith high-NFC consumers, low-NFCconsumers willperceive prices with lowerleft digits (e.g., $920vs.$890)tobelowerthanprices with thesameleft digits (e.g., $990vs.$950).MethodologyThedataareprocessedusingSPSSstatisticalanalysis.ThisstudyemploysMANOVAandtwo-wayANOVAinordertoinvestigatetheleft-digiteffectandNFCforpricecognition.Thesurveyisemployedand500questionnairesaresenttoundergraduates.Afterexpunginginvalidquestionnaires,459undergraduateuniversitystudents,138malesand321femalesintheagegroupof17to25,fromtheDepartmentofBusinessAdministrationparticipatedinthesurveyconductedtotestanindependentvariable(monetarypromotion),adependentvariable(pricecognition),andmoderatorvariables(NFC).Thereturnrateofquestionnaireis91.8%.Thestudentsspentapproximately15minutestocompletethequestionnaire;eachstudentreceivedtherequisitecoursecreditsfortheirparticipationinthesurvey.ThisstudyThe459participantscomprised264high-NFCconsumersand195low-NFCconsumers,whofilledouteitherthelowerleftdigitorthesameleftdigitquestionnaires.Twohundredandtwentyninelower-left-digitquestionnairesand230same-left-digitquestionnaireswererandomlydistributedamongtheparticipants.Seventy-ninelow-NFCparticipantsand150high-NFCparticipantsfilledoutthelower-left-digitquestionnaires.Onehundredandsixteenlow-NFCparticipantsand114high-NFCparticipantsfilledoutsame-left-digitquestionnaires.Thisstudyadoptsthe18-itemNeedforCognitionscalefromCacioppo,PettyandKao(1984).Moreover,thisstudyalsoemploysthe5-pointLikert-typescalethatrangesfrom“stronglydisagree,”“disagree,”“neitherdisagreenoragree,”“agree,”to“stronglyagree.”Thestrongertheiragreement,thehigherthescoretheyreceive.Participantsindicatetheirdegreeofagreementwithstatementssuchas“Iwouldprefercomplextosimpleproblems,”“Thinkingisnotmyideaoffun,”etc.Cronbach’sαcoefficientofNFCis0.808.Furthermore,thisresearchadoptsThomasandMorwitz(2005)’researchasareferenceofresearchmethod.Cronbach’sαcoefficientofpricecognitionis0.797.Inordertoencourageparticipantstobecomeinvolvedinthestudy,theyanswerthreequestionsrelatedtoareal-lifepurchasecircumstance.Halftheparticipantsanswerquestionsinvolvingthesameleftdigit(e.g.,$990vs.$950);theotherhalfanswerquestionsinvolvingalowerleftdigit(e.g.,$920vs.$890).Theproductsinvolvedinthisstudyaresneakers,MP3players,andslippers(NikeandAdidas).Apromotionalpricewithalowerleftdigitthatreduces30dollarsandonewiththesameleftdigitthatreduces40dollarsarecomparedwiththeoriginalprice.Theresearchinstructsstudentstoselecttheanswerusingthe5-pointLikert-typescaleinwhich1=“Stronglydisagree”and5=“Stronglyagree.”Participantsselectanumberthatrepresentsthedegreetowhichtheyagreeordisagreewiththestatements“Ithinkthepromotionproductisinexpensive”and“Ithinkthepromotionalpriceoftheproductisattractive.”Result1.Study:Left-digitEffectandNFCforPriceCognitionInthisstudy,thehypothesisisthatcomparedwithhigh-NFCconsumers,low-NFCconsumerswillperceivepriceswithlowerleftdigits(e.g.,$920vs.$890)tobelowerthanpriceswiththesameleftdigits(e.g.,$990vs.$950).Therefore,priceswithlowerleftdigitwillbeperceivedtobesmallerthanpriceswiththesameleftdigitforindividualswithlowNFCthanforindividualswithhighNFC.Thisresearchmeasuresthepriceperceptionsforsneakers,MP3players,andslippers(NikeandAdidas).ThedataareprocessedusingSPSSstatisticalanalysis.ThisstudyemploysMANOVAandtwo-wayANOVAinordertoinvestigatetheleft-digiteffectandNFCforpricecognition.ThefirststatisticisMANOVA.Theanalysisrevealsasignificantleft-digiteffect(F(1,455)=2.802,p=.040).Similarly,theinteractionbetweentheleft-digiteffectandNFCisalsosignificant(F(1,455)=9.638,p=.000),indicatingthatconsumersarelikelytobeaffectedbytheleft-digiteffect,particularlylow-NFCconsumersascomparedwithhigh-NFCconsumers(seeTable1-1).Table1-1MANOVAonNFCWilks’LambdaFHypothesisErrordfSig.dfLeft-digitEffect2.8023.000453.000.040Left-digiteffect×9.6383.000453.000.000NFCThenextstatisticusedinthisstudyistwo-wayANOVA.Forsneakers,theleftdigitissignificant(F(1,455)=4.812,p=.029);thisindicatesthatpriceswithalowerleftdigit($820vs.$790)affectconsumersmorethanpriceswiththesameleftdigit($870to$830).Whentheleftdigitissignificant,itaffectsthepricecognitionofconsumers.Inacomparisonofpriceswithlowerleftdigit($820vs.$790)andsameleftdigit($870vs.$830),itisfoundthatthepromotionalpriceoftheformer(Ml=2.52)islessexpensivethanthelatter(Ms=2.33).Therefore,priceswithalowerleftdigitaffectconsumersmorethanpriceswiththesameleftdigit(seeTable1-2).Furthermore,thisstudyalsoclassifiesconsumersintohighandlowNFCcategories.Whenlowerleft-digitprices(theoriginalpriceis$820andthepromotionalpriceis$790,whichresultsinalowerleftdigit)andthesameleft-digitprices(theoriginalpriceis$870andthepromotionalpriceis$830,whichresultsinthesameleftdigit)arecompared,thenitisfoundthatlow-NFCconsumersperceivethelowerleft-digitpricetobesignificantlylessexpensive(Ms=2.23vs.Ml=2.62;F(1,455)=5.343,p=.021).However,forhigh-NFCconsumers,bothlowerandsameleft-digitpricesareperceivedtobesimilar(Ms=2.43vs.Ml=2.42).Therefore,low-NFCconsumersareaffectedmorebytheleftdigitthanhigh-NFCconsumers(seeTable1-3).WithregardtotheMP3player,theleftdigitissignificant(F(1,455)=4.000,p=.046),therebyindicatingthatpriceswithalowerleftdigit($925vs.$895)affectconsumersmorethanpriceswiththesameleftdigit($980vs.$940).Whentheleftdigitissignificant,itaffectstheconsumers’perceptionofprice.AccordingtoTable1-2,priceswithalowerleftdigit(Ml=3.30)areperceivedtobesignificantlylessexpensivethanpriceswiththesameleftdigit(Ms=3.05).Hence,priceswithalowerleftdigitaffectconsumersmorethanpriceswiththesameleftdigiteffect.Similarly,thisstudyclassifiesconsumersintohighandlowNFCcategoriesinordertoinvestigatethedifferencesthatarisefromtheirdifferentcharacteristics.Whenlowerleft-digitprices(theoriginalpriceis$925andthepromotionalpriceis$895,whichresultsinalowerleftdigit)andthesameleft-digitprices(theoriginalpriceis$980andthepromotionalpriceis$940,whichresultsinthesameleftdigit)arecompared,itisfoundthatlow-NFCconsumersperceivethelowerleft-digitpriceassignificantlylessexpensive(Ms=2.85vs.Ml=3.62;F(1,455)18.597,p=.000).However,bothlowerandthesameleft-digitpricesarerathersimilar(Ms=3.25vs.Ml=2.97)forhigh-NFCconsumers.Therefore,low-NFCconsumersareaffectedmorebytheleftdigitthanhigh-NFCconsumers(seeTable1-3).Asimilaranalysisofanotherproduct,i.e.,slippersdisplaysthesamepattern.Inthecaseoftheslippers,theleftdigitissignificant(F(1,455)=4.887,p=.028),whichalsoimpliesthatpriceswithalowerleftdigit($920vs.$890)affectconsumersmorethanpriceswiththesameleftdigit($990vs.$950).Sincetheleftdigitissignificant,itaffectsthepricecognitionofconsumers.Whenthepriceswithlowerandsameleftdigitforboththeproductsarecompared,itisdiscoveredthattheformer(Ml=2.23)islessexpensivethanthelatter(Ms=2.00).Therefore,priceswithalowerleftdigitaffectconsumersmorethanpriceswiththesameleftdigit(seeTable1-2).WhenacomparisonbetweenconsumershavingdifferentlevelsofNFCisconducted,itisfoundthatlow-NFCconsumersperceivelowerleft-digitpricestobesignificantlylessexpensive(Ms=1.68vs.Ml=2.32;F(1,455)=16.129,p=.000)(seeTable1-3).Inotherwords,asignificantcorrelationexistsbetweentheleftdigitandNFCwhenlowerleft-digitprices(theoriginalpriceis$920andthepromotionalpriceis$890,whichresultsinalowerleftdigit),sameleft-digitprices(theoriginalpriceis$990andthepromotionalpriceis$950,whichresultsinthesameleftdigit)anddifferentlevelsofNFCarecompared.Table1-2

Left-digit

effect

andNFCfor

Sneakers,

MP3Player,

andSlippersProductSneakersMP3playerSlippersLowerleft2.523.302.23digitSameleft2.333.052.00digitTable1-3LeftProduct

Digit×Sneakers

NFCforSneakers,MP3Player,MP3playerSlippers

andSlippersNFCLower

Highleft2.42

Low2.62

High2.97

Low3.62

High2.14

Low2.32digitSame

left2.43

2.23 3.25

2.85

2.32

1.68digitThese results are consistent with the first hypothesis.Therefore, it isprobablethat, ascomparedwithhigh-NFCconsumers,low-NFCconsumersperceivepriceswithalowerleftdigittobelowerthanprices withthesameleft digit.In simplewords,priceswithalowerleft digit affect low-NFCconsumersmorethanhigh-NFCconsumers.ConclusionThisresearchprovidesfurthersupporttotheevidenceprovidedbypreviousresearchers(ThomasandMorwitz,2005;Coulter,2001;LiebermannandFlint-Goor,1996)thatpriceswithlowerleftdigitareperceivedtobelowerthanpriceswiththesameleftdigitbylow-NFCconsumersascomparedwithhigh-NFCconsumers.Theleftdigiteffectofthethreeproductsmentionedinthepreviouschapterdemonstratesthatpriceswithalowerleftdigitaffectconsumersmorethanpriceswiththesameleftdigit.Pricesofsneakerswithalowerleftdigit(Ml=2.52)areperceivedtobelessexpensivethanpriceswiththesameleftdigit(Ms=2.33).PricesofMP3playerswithalowerleftdigit(Ml=3.30)areperceivedtobelessexpensivethanthepricesofproductswiththesameleftdigit(Ms=3.05).Inaddition,pricesofslipperswithalowerleftdigit(Ml=2.23)arelessexpensivethanthepricesofproductswiththesameleftdigit(Ms=2.00).Therefore,itcanbeconcludedthatpriceswithalowerleftdigitaffectconsumersmorethanpriceswiththesameleftdigit.ThisresultsupportsthetheoryofLRorientation(Coulter,2001),whichstatesthatconsumersnoticetheleft-mostdigitsofthepricefirst;furthermore,LRorientationproducesdifferentresultsforconsumerswithdifferentlevelsofNFC(Coulter,2001).AfterclassifyingNFCintohighandlowlevels,itisfoundthatascomparedwithhigh-NFCconsumers,low-NFCconsumersperceivepriceswithalowerleftdigitaslessexpensivethanpriceswiththesameleftdigit.Low-NFCconsumersperceivethepriceofsneakerswithalowerleftdigit(Ml=2.62)tobelessexpensivethanthepricesofproductswiththesameleftdigit(Ms=2.23).PricesofMP3playerswithalowerleftdigit(Ml=3.62)areperceivedtobelessexpensivethanthepricesofproductswiththesameleftdigit(Ms=2.85);similarlypricesofslipperswithalowerleftdigit(Ml=2.32)areperceivedtobelessexpensivethanpricesofproductswiththesameleftdigit(Ms=1.68)bylow-NFCconsumersascomparedwithhigh-NFCconsumers.Therefore,low-NFCconsumersareaffectedbytheleftdigit.Thesefindingsappeartoindicatethathigh-NFCconsumerstendnottobeaffectedbydifferentinformationforvariousproducts(LiebermannandFlint-Goor,1996).However,low-NFCconsumerstendtobeaffectedbydifferentinformationaboutvariousproducts.Inotherwords,low-NFCconsumersaremoreinclinedtowardpurchasingproductswithouttakingnoteofpricereductions,whereashigh-NFCconsumerspurchaseproductsiftheproductshaveasubstantivepricereduction(Inman,McAlisterandHoyer,1990).Asaresult,NFCisofparamountimportanceininfluencingthepurchasedecisionofconsumers.Therefore,inthisstudy,whichinvestigatesthepricesofthreeproducts(sneakers,MP3players,andslippers),thefirsthypothesisissupported.Accordingtothisstudy,itispossiblethatpriceswithalowerleftdigitmayaffectlow-NFCconsumersmorethanhigh-NFCconsumers.1.ContributionstoLiteratureandSuggestionsforMarketingNumerousresearchers(ThomasandMorwitz,2005;Coulter,2001;AndersonandSimester,2003)researchedtheleft-digiteffectandnine-endingorodd-endingprice.Researchersfoundthatconsumerstendtopurchaseproductsingreaterquantitywhentheyperceivethatthepriceisreducedbyonecent(e.g.,$2.99vs.$3.00).Besides,consumersreadthedigitsofapricefromlefttoright.Therefore,consumersarelikelytounderestimatetheprice(Coulter,2001).Thesefactorsmayaffectthepurchasedecisionsofconsumers.However,differentkindsofmonetarypromotionsmayinfluenceconsumerstopurchaseproductsinaccordancewiththeircharacteristicsandbehaviorssuchasNFC.Althoughmonetarypromotionsuchasleft-digiteffectandnine-endingpriceinfluencesconsumerstoincreasethequantityofproductstheypurchase,consumercharacteristicsalsoareimportantelementsthataffectthepurchasedecisionofconsumers.This