Deal Proneness Scale

What it measures

Measures the tendency to respond favourably to promotional deals — specifically sale price promotions and coupon offers. Deal proneness captures the psychological benefit of responding to a promotion beyond the financial saving: the smart-shopper feeling of obtaining a deal. Widely used in promotions research, retail marketing, and loyalty programme design.

Response format

Likert (1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

Scale items

• I enjoy buying things that are on sale.
• Beyond the money I save, buying sale items gives me a sense of joy.
• When I take advantage of a sale, I feel that I am getting a good deal.
• I have favourite brands, but most of the time I buy the brand that's on sale.
• One should try to buy the brand on sale.
• I am more likely to buy brands that are on sale.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Two subscale scores. The smart-shopper feeling (satisfaction from obtaining a deal) is the key psychological mechanism — deal-prone consumers derive utility beyond the financial saving. Coupon proneness and sale proneness are related but distinct — coupon users tend to be more planful while sale-prone consumers are more impulsive. Widely used in retail promotion and loyalty programme research.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Lichtenstein, D.R., Ridgway, N.M., & Netemeyer, R.G. (1993). Price perceptions and consumer shopping behavior: A field study. Journal of Marketing Research, 30(2), 234–245.

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