Price Ending Strategies: A Qualitative Study Focusing on the Effects of Students' Perceptionsfor Cafe and Restaurant Menu Prices

Year 2007, Volume: 18 Issue: 1, 21 - 32, 01.06.2007

Murat Hançer Fırat Biçici Abdullah Tanrısevdi

Abstract

The primary aim of this study is to explore price-ending strategies utilized in coffee shops and luxury restaurants. Customers' image and expectations of quality with respect to the utilization of price-ending strategies is also investigated in the study. The methodology of the study has divided into two phases. The first phase involves the collection of menus from coffee shops and luxury restaurants in Ankara. Seventy menus collected, then carefully inspected to see the differences among the usage of different price-endings. This phase reveals that menu prices-ending with .00 (i.e. 7.00) and ending with no digits (i.e. 7) are the most commonly used strategies in the luxury restaurants. The second phase of the study uses scenarios to find out the customers' image of restaurant and food quality. The sample was comprised of students. This phase reveals that students who read the scenario explaining a “high quality restaurant” are affected by the prices ending with .00 and ending with no digits. On the other hand, a scenario about a place that offers a low price by using digits .99 and .00 does not give the image of “bargain place” in the minds of customers.

Keywords

pricing, psychological pricing, food industry, price ending strategies, restaurant, menu prices, students' perceptions

Fiyat Sonu Yazım Stratejileri: Kafe ve Restoran Menü Fiyatlarının Öğrenci Algıları Üzerindeki Etkisini Belirlemeye Yönelik Nitel Bir Çalışma

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın amacı, psikolojik fiyatlandırma yöntemlerinden birisi olan fiyat sonu yazım stratejisinin, kafe ve lüks restoranlardaki uygulama biçimlerini araştırmak ve bu stratejiyle oluşturulmuş menülerin algılamalarda ucuz ve yüksek kalite imajını yansıtıp yansıtmadığını incelemektir. Çalışmanın yöntem kısmı iki aşamadan oluşturulmuştur. Birinci aşamada Ankara'da bulunan kafe ve lüks restoranlardan 70 adet menü toplanmış ve fiyat sonu yazım stratejisinin yiyecek-içecek işletmelerindeki uygulamaları araştırılmıştır. İlk aşamada lüks restoranların menülerinde yüksek kalitenin simgesi olarak kabul edilen .00'lı (örn 7.00) fiyat sonlandırması ve küsuratsız fiyat yazımının (örn. 7) ağırlıklı olarak tercih edildiği görülmüştür. Araştırmanın ikinci aşamasında, fiyat sonu yazım stratejisinin müşteri algılamalarını nasıl etkilediğini belirlemek üzere senaryolar oluşturulmuş ve bu senaryolar üzerinden örneklem kapsamına alınan öğrencilerin tercihleri incelenmiştir. Elde edilen bulgulara göre .00'lı fiyat sonu yazım stratejisinin ve küsuratsız fiyat yazım şeklinin, yüksek kalite imajını yansıttığı anlaşılmıştır. Ancak ucuz imajının nasıl algılandığını araştırmak için kullanılan .99'lu ve .00'lı fiyat sonlandırmalarının herhangi bir etki yaratmadığı ortaya çıkmıştır.

Keywords

fiyatlandırma, psikolojik fiyatlandırma, gıda sanayii, fiyat sonu yazım stratejileri, restoran, menü fiyatları, öğrenci algıları

References

• Aaalto-Setala, V. (2005). How Do Markets Behave? The Adjustment of Price Endings, Journal of Product & Brand Management, 14/7: 455-459
• Anderson, E. ve Simester, D. (2003). Effects of $9 Price Endings on Retail Sales: Evidence from Field Experiments, Quantitative Marketing and Economics, 1: 93-110
• Aras, H. (1993). Konaklama İşletmeciliğinde Yiyecek-İçecek Maliyet Kontrolü. Ankara: Devran Matbaası
• Au, N. ve Law, R. (2002). Categorical Classification of Tourism Dinning, Annals of Tourism Research, 29 (3): 819-833
• Bader, L. ve Weinland, J. D. (1932). Do Odd Prices Earn Money? Journal of Retailing, 8
• Baek, S-H, Ham, S. ve Yang, Il-S. (2004). A Cross-cultural comparision of Fast Food Restaurant Selection Criteria between Korean and Filipino College Students. İçinde Proceedings of the 2nd Asia-Pacific CHRIE (APacCHRIE) Conference & 6th Biennial Conference on Tourism in Asia. Thailand: 27-29 May, 2004. Basu, K. (2006). Consumer Cognition and Pricing in the Nines In Oligopolistic Markets, Journal of Economics&Management Strategy, 15(1): 125-141
• Bizer, G. Y. ve Schindler R. M. (2005). Direct Evidence of Ending-Digit Drop-off in Price Information Processing, Psychology & Marketing, October, 22 (10): 771-783
• Bolat, T. (1995). Konaklama İşletmelerinde Menü Planlaması ve Fiyatlandırma Çalışmalarının Bir Uygulama ile Değerlendirilmesi, Aydın: IV.Ulusal Turizm Kongresi 18-20 Kasım 1990: 340-347. Cohen, E. ve Avieli, N. (2004) Food in Tourism: Attraction and Impediment, Annals of Tourism Reserarch, 31 (4): 755-778
• Estelami, H. (1999). The Computational Effect of Price Endings in Multidimensional Price Advertising, Journal of Product &Brand Management, 8 (3): 244-256
• Friedman, L. (1967). Psychological Pricing in the Food Industry. In A. Philips & O. E. Williamson (Eds). Prices: Issues in Theory, Practice and Public Policy. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Kreul, L. M. (1982). Magic numbers: Psychological Aspects of Menu Pricing, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 23: 70-75
• Monroe, K.B. (1990). Pricing: Making Profitable Decisions. New York: McGraw-Hill
• Meyer, M. K. ve Conklin, M. T. (1998). Varaiables Affecting High School Students’ Perceptions of School Foodservice, Journal of American Dietetic Association, 98 (12): 1424-1431
• Nagle, T. T. ve Holden, R. K. (1995). The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing: A Guide to Profitable Decision Making, (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall
• Naipaul, S. (2002). Psychological Pricing Strategies and Consumers Response Behavior: An Empirical Investigation in the Restaurant Industry. The Ohio State University: Unpublished Dissertation
• Naipaul, S. ve Parsa, H. G. (2001). Menu Price Endings That Communicate Value and Quality, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 42(1): 26-37
• Pannel-Martin, D. (1998). Controlling Costs in the Foodservice Industry, Alexandra, VA: Team Associates Inc. Parsa, H. G. ve Hu, H-H. (2004). Price-Ending Practices and Cultural Differences in the Food Service Industry: A Study of Taiwanese Restaurants, Food Service Technology, 4: 21-30
• Pride, W. M. ve Ferrel, O. C. (1997). Marketing Concepts and Strategies. (10th ed.). Houghton Mifflin Co
• Rızaoğlu, B. ve Hançer, M. (2005). Menü ve Yönetim. Ankara: Detay Yayıncılık
• Rudolph, H. J. (1954). Pricing for Today’s Market. Printer’s Ink, 247
• Quan, S. ve Wang, N. (2004). Towards a Structural Modelof the Tourist Experience: An Illustration from Food Experiences in Tourism, Tourism Management, 25 (2004): 297-305. Schindler, R. M. (2006). The 99 Price Ending As a Signal of a Low-Price Appeal, Journal of Retailing, 82 (1): 71-77
• Schindler, R. M. ve Chandrashekaran, R. (2004). Influence of Price Endings On Price Recall: A By-Digit Analysis, Journal of Product & Brand Management,13 (7): 514-524
• Schindler, R. M. ve Kibarian T. M. (1996). Increased Consumer Sales Response through Use of 99-Ending Prices, Journal of Retailing, 72: 187-199
• Schindler, R. M. ve Kirby, P. N. (1997). Patterns of Rightmost Digits Used in Advertised Prices: Implications for Nine-Ending Effects, Journal of Consumer Research, 24: 192-201 Sheity, T. H. E. ve Kirchler E. (2005). Price Developments After a Nominal Shock: Benford’s Law and Psychological Pricing after the Euro Introduction, International Journal of Research in Marketing, 22: 471-480
• Simmons, L. C. ve Schindler, R. M. (2003). Cultural Superstitions and the Price Endings Used in Chinese Advertising, Journal of International Marketing, 11 (2): 101-111
• Stevens, P. (1990). (Çev: Erçoban, B. ve Timur, D.). Lokanta İşletmeciliği. Eskişehir: Anadolu Üniversitesi Matbaası
• Stiving, M. A. (1996). An Economic Theory of Price Endings. University of California: Ph. D. Dissertation
• Stiving, M. A. (2000). Price-Endings When Prices Signal Quality, Management Science, 46 (12): 1617-1629
• Stiving, M. and Russel S. Winer. (1997). An Empirical Analysis of Price Endings Using Scanner Data, Journal of Marketing Research, 25: 331-341
• Twedt, D. W. (1965). Does the ‘9 Fixation’ in Retail Pricing Really Promote Sales? Journal of Consumer Research, 29(October): 54-55
• Turizm Tesislerinin Belgelendirilmesine ve Niteliklerine İlişkin Yönetmelik. (Resmi Gazete Tarih: 18.06.2005, Sayı: 25849)
• Whalen, B. F. (1980). Strategic Mix of Odd Even Prices Can Lead To Increased Retail Profit, Marketing News, 13: 24
• Wiecha, J. Finkelstein, D. Troped, P. Fragala, M. ve Peterson, K. (2006). School Vending Machine Use and Fast-Food Restaurant Use are associated with Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake in Youth, Journal of American Dietetic Association, (October): 1624-1630
• http://www.kultur.gov.tr/yatirimlar/BelgeGoster.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFF4497A73B597516EA85E8AFC7A1B9BEFB Erişim Tarihi: 10 Mayıs 2006.