Pricing Tactic Persuasion Knowledge Scale

What it measures

The PTPK is a validated measure of consumers' persuasion knowledge about specific retailer pricing tactics — the degree to which consumers understand that particular pricing strategies are designed to influence their purchase decisions and perceptions of value. Hardesty, Bearden, and Carlson (2007) drew on Friestad and Wright's (1994) Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM) to argue that consumers develop lay theories about retailer pricing tactics that moderate the tactics' persuasive effectiveness. The PTPK operationalises persuasion knowledge for four commonly used retail pricing tactics. Comparative Price Advertising Knowledge captures awareness that advertised 'was/now' or 'regular/sale' price comparisons may be strategically inflated or misleading. Bundle Pricing Knowledge captures awareness that bundled prices may obscure individual item costs and induce incremental spending. Limited-Time Offer Knowledge captures awareness that time pressure tactics ('today only', 'while supplies last') are designed to reduce deliberation and accelerate purchase. Odd-Ending Price Knowledge captures awareness that prices ending in .99 or .95 are designed to create the perception of a significantly lower price tier. High-PTPK consumers — those with well-developed pricing tactic knowledge — are less susceptible to each tactic's intended influence and are more likely to make price comparisons that counteract the tactic's effect. PTPK scores are positively correlated with marketplace experience, price consciousness, and need for cognition, and negatively correlated with susceptibility to reference price anchoring and deal framing effects.

Response format

7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree); four subscales scored separately; subscales averaged

Scale items

Comparative Price Advertising Knowledge — CPA (5 items): awareness that advertised reference prices and 'was/now' price comparisons may be strategically misleading. 7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree). Items averaged.

• Stores sometimes set their 'regular' prices artificially high so that the 'sale' price still gives them a good profit.
• Advertised 'compare at' or 'was' prices are not always what stores normally charge for the product.
• Stores often inflate their regular prices so that advertised discounts look larger than they really are.
• The 'original price' shown in a sale advertisement is sometimes higher than what the item was actually selling for.
• I know that reference prices in ads are sometimes set high to make the discount seem bigger.

Bundle Pricing Knowledge — BPK (4 items): awareness that bundle pricing tactics are designed to obscure individual item costs and encourage incremental spending. 7-point Likert. Items averaged.

• When stores sell products in bundles, the individual item prices are often set to make the bundle look like a better deal than it really is.
• Stores sometimes price bundle components so that buying the bundle seems like an obvious choice, even when it may not be.
• Bundling products together is a way retailers get consumers to spend more than they would otherwise.
• Bundle pricing is a strategy designed to make consumers feel they are saving money even when the savings may be minimal.

Limited-Time Offer Knowledge — LTO (5 items): awareness that time-pressure pricing tactics are designed to limit deliberation and accelerate purchase decisions. 7-point Likert. Items averaged.

• Stores use 'today only' or 'limited time' offers to pressure consumers into buying before they have time to think carefully.
• Time-limited sales are designed to make consumers act quickly rather than shop around.
• When a sale is about to end, stores hope consumers will panic and buy without careful consideration.
• 'While supplies last' messages are often used to create urgency even when there is plenty of stock.
• I know that time pressure tactics in stores are used to discourage careful decision making.

Odd-Ending Price Knowledge — OEP (4 items): awareness that prices ending in .99, .95, or similar are designed to create the perceptual impression of a significantly lower price tier. 7-point Likert. Items averaged.

• Prices that end in .99 are designed to make products seem much cheaper than they really are.
• A price of $19.99 is really just $20, but stores price it that way to make it seem like a lot less.
• Retailers use prices ending in .99 or .95 to psychologically anchor consumers to a lower price category.
• I know that odd-ending prices like $9.99 are a psychological pricing tactic, not a genuine bargain indicator.

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

Usage notes & scoring

The PTPK measures knowledge of specific pricing tactics rather than general price consciousness or scepticism. Higher PTPK scores indicate greater awareness that pricing tactics are used to influence consumers, which typically attenuates the tactic's effectiveness. Report the four subscales separately — consumers may be knowledgeable about some tactics but not others. The PTPK is best used as a moderator in experimental studies testing the effectiveness of the relevant pricing tactic, or as a consumer characteristic in field studies of price perception and deal response. PTPK is distinct from the general Skepticism Toward Advertising scale (SKEP) — PTPK is domain-specific (pricing) and tactic-specific, while SKEP is a global advertising disbelief disposition.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Hardesty, D.M., Bearden, W.O., & Carlson, J.P. (2007). Persuasion knowledge and consumer reactions to pricing tactics. Journal of Marketing, 71(2), 192–205.

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