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emotional uncertainty and certainty on the quantity of nine-ending priced items purchased
and concluded that emotional certainty induces a higher level of processing fluency than
that produced by emotional uncertainty. The final main contribution to the literature is to
show that the nine-ending price effect is weaker where consumers evaluate prices jointly
and therefore have a lower level of processing fluency than where they evaluate prices
separately and therefore have a high level of processing fluency.
Managerial implications
The present study argues that the asymmetric effects of positive and negative
emotions induced by nine-ending prices produce different image effects that influence
purchase intention: positive emotions are associated with price image effects and negative
emotions are associated with quality image effects. When people experience positive
emotions, a high level of processing fluency will induce them to recall various pleasant
experiences and to view such experiences in a positive light. In other words, they will
regard a nine-ending price as the retailer giving a small amount back to the consumer (the
price image effect) and thus providing them with an opportunity to buy the product for
less, which will greatly increase their purchase intention(Baumgartner and Steiner, 2007;
Schindler and Kibarian, 1996; Schindler, 2006). In contrast, consumers experiencing
negative emotions will experience a low level of processing fluency that recalls various
negative experiences and projects them onto the object; in turn, they will view the nine-
ending price as a signal of inferior or lower quality (the quality image effect), which will
reduce their purchase intention (Baumgartner and Steiner, 2007; Stiving, 2000).
The findings reported in this article have important implications for practitioners and
marketers. It shows that the psychological pricing of odd-ending is associated with greater
purchase intention only when people are induced into a positive, rather than a negative,
emotional state. Thus, sales may be enhanced if an offer uses a positive or gain frame
(Choi, Lee and Ji, 2012) to signal the consumer that they were smart and savvy enough to
find a good deal without taking advantage of a manufacturer or retailer. Event marketing
can be a good consideration to provoke the positive emotion. The typical example is the
anniversary ceremony festival of department. Instead of “Don’t lose out”, “Save” or
“Enjoy” are largely used to induce purchase intention under happy atmosphere created by
the department.
An intimidating or oppressive environment (e.g., dim lighting, strange music,
crowded) should be avoided as well as the low quality image. Since odd prices could
signal lower product quality, this tactic is better used for only the special promotion events