Abstract: As distributing coupons is one of the most frequently used marketing tools, it is beneficial for marketers to understand what factors affect consumer’s responses to coupons. Although prior research has investigated a variety of impacts of coupon discount on consumers’ intentional and behavioral responses, there still exist some inconsistent findings regarding the effectiveness of coupons. Building on information processing theory and cost-benefit trade-off perspective, the authors present a framework that synthesizes a variety of contextual factors that may reconcile the inconsistencies. A meta-analysis study synthesizes and empirically examines the moderating roles of several contextual factors on the relationship between coupon discount and consumer response. The findings reveal that although higher discount leads to higher consumer response, this effect varies with the design factors of the coupon been distributed, the characteristics of the product been promoted, and the characteristics of the consumers been targeted. Specifically, the effect of coupon discount has a greater influence on consumer response when the coupon discount is presented in percentage; the effect of coupon discount is weakened when the coupon can be redeemed online; the effect is also attenuated for hedonic products rather than for utilitarian products. In addition, consumers rely more on coupon discount to make purchase decisions when a fictitious brand is used as an experimental stimulus. Higher coupon discount is more attractive for consumers who are distant to the physical location of the focal store and for those who has not given permission for the coupon.

Key words: coupon, discount, consumer response, meta-analysis