Samenvatting

In recent years there has been a trend in the sales of supermarket products. The consumer buys an increasing proportion of products which are in promotion. This has increased the promotion pressure in supermarkets to an average of 20 percent (IRi, 2016). In the category cheese the promotion pressure is even higher: in the past year (week 14 2015 up and till week 14 in 2016), 22 percent of all the cheese was sold while it was in promotion (IRi, 2016). In recent years there has also been a negative trend in the market share of Milner: it has dropped with index 75.
The combination of higher promotion pressure of Milner, compared to the average of the cheese category and the declining market share of Milner in this category causes the reason for doing research into the price perception of consumers in times of promotion.
Several theories have been used throughout this thesis to answer the central question. The compromise effect of Simonson (1989), the concept op perceived value of Zeithaml (1988) and the effect of bundle promotions model of Foubert & Gijsbrechts (2007) were central in the research part of this thesis.
Based on these theories, ten hypotheses have been drawn up. First these hypotheses have been tested in desk research, using sales data. Then qualitative research is conducted to explain the sales data from the desk research, using the price perception of the consumers form the target group of Milner. This research has been conducted in the form of depth-interviews. Thanks to conducting in-depth interviews it was possible to identify the underlying motives of the consumers and understand how the price perception of the consumer of Milner is formed and influenced.
The outcomes of the research show that promotion has an important role in the price perception of consumers. The price perception of the consumer can be affected by putting in the proper action mechanism and to communicate this with the consumer in the right way. Not one specific action mechanism or form of communication is always the best, it depends on the purpose and the depth of the promotion.
To improve the price perception of the consumer, it is recommended to increase the price that the consumer expects of Milner, so the expected price will rise above the actual price. Besides that, it is recommended to use the action mechanism that suits the purpose of the promotion best. When the objective of the promotion is to improve the price perception of the consumer, it is recommended to use price discount. If the objective is to increase sales and market share, it is recommended to use bundle promotions. Another recommendation of this thesis is to use marketing campaigns that focusses on the emotional values of the consumer. The last recommendation of this thesis is to communicate the price discount as a percentage, in case of high discount and to communicate the price reduction in absolute value in case of low discount.