Consumers' Emotions about Getting a Discount and their Likelihood to Return at Regular Prices

Discounts are an important strategic tool for service marketers to attract new customers or to entice them to use their service during off-peak times. To establish long-term relationships it is crucial for firms to understand when and why these customers are willing to return at regular prices. Using a discrete emotions approach, we propose that this depends on the specific positive emotion elicited by this price situation. The results of a field study with 803 customers indicate that the distinct agency attributions associated with getting a discount trigger different emotions (pride, gratitude, relief, surprise) that distinctively affect post-purchase intentions.