The usual theoretical assumption that the retailer's promotional activities serve the purpose of attracting customers into stores lacks empirical verification. The relationship between promotional activity and customer count is examined empirically in just a few studies, and no significantly positive association is found. This dissertation is a comprehensive empirical study of a unique time series cross section dataset, which contains scanner data representing 28 product categories in a large supermarket chain over two and a half year long period. The main result of this dissertation is that retailer's promotional activities are positively related to customer count. Two constructed measures of the promotional activity have a positive significant effect on store traffic that is comparable with the customer count effect of an average holiday. Some 55 percent of the positive long-run promotional activity effect is felt immediately, and the remaining 45 percent is spread over a five week long period. The promotions have prolonged effects that last until the next promotional peak -€“ the next holiday. It is also found that promotional discounts have positive and significant effect on store profit.

As marcas estão presentes no cotidiano dos consumidores e das organizações. Para os indivíduos, as marcas são carregadas de simbolismos, representações e complexos signos de posicionamento social enquanto, para as empresas, as marcas se tornam um ativo extremamente valioso, capaz de diferenciar as suas ofertas em um mercado comoditizado e influenciar o comportamento do consumidor. Neste cenário, o cuidado com a marca na percepção dos consumidores surge quase como condição para uma eficaz gestão estratégica de marketing nas empresas e, também, terreno fértil para pesquisas acadêmicas. Entre os cuidados que a empresa deve ter com as marcas sobre as percepções do consumidor, as estratégias promocionais baseadas na redução de preços merecem atenção. O presente estudo verifica o impacto que a promoção de preços (descontos e ofertas) exerce sobre o Consumer-based Brand Equity (CBBE). Por meio de uma pesquisa experimental do tipo between-subject, uma amostra de 300 estudantes universitários divididos igualmente em seis unidades de teste, foi estimulada através de anúncios impressos, a avaliar o CBBE de duas marcas de tênis (Diadora e Nike) que apresentavam três diferentes níveis de desconto (nenhum, baixo e alto) sobre um preço de referência - em um design fatorial 2x3 - a fim de avaliar se a presença e a intensidade das promoções de preços, presentes no anúncio, influenciariam as percepções dos respondentes sobre as marcas. A pesquisa também avaliou simultaneamente o comportamento de duas metodologias de mensuração distintas: (1) a metodologia de Yoo e Donthu (2001) que mensura elementos cognitivos e comportamentais e (2) a metodologia de Vázquez, Río e Iglésias (2002) que mensura o Consumer-based Brand Equity com base em duas dimensões de utilidade da marca: valor funcional e valor simbólico. Entre os principais achados desta pesquisa, pode-se destacar que - ao contrário do suporte teórico - neste experimento, a promoção de preços quando aplicada em anúncios impressos, não gerou impacto estatiscamente significativo sobre a média geral do Consumer-based Brand Equity e tão pouco sobre suas dimensões separadamente. A principal contribuição gerencial desta pesquisa consiste na indicação de evidências de que as promoções de preços, enquanto estratégias de curto prazo, podem continuar sendo uma das mais utilizadas estratégias de promoção de vendas sem prejuízo ao valor da marca na percepção do consumidor. Sob o ponto de vista acadêmico, este trabalho contribui principalmente na validação da escala de Yoo e Donthu (2001) no contexto brasileiro e em pesquisas experimentais. Da mesma forma, esta pesquisa ajuda a validar a ainda pouco utilizada escala de Vázquez, Río e Iglésias (2002) indicando que esta escala de mensuração precisa de outros estudos mais robustos até adquirir a solidez necessária à sua ampla utilização. Também como uma das implicações acadêmicas desta pesquisa, destacam-se os indicativos que, em um contexto de pesquisa experimental, os achados de alguns autores como Yoo, Donthu e Lee (2000), Villarejo-Ramos e Sanchez-Franco (2005) e Buil, Chernatony e Martínez (2008, 2011) que identificaram a influência das promoções de preços sobre certas dimensões do Consumer-based Brand Equity merecem ser revistos. / Brands are present in consumers life and organizations. For individuals, brands are loaded with symbolism, representations and complex social positioning signs. As for businesses, brands become an extremely valuable asset, able to differentiate their offerings in a commoditized market and influence consumer behavior. In this scenario, the care with the brand in consumers' perception emerges almost as a condition for effective strategic marketing management in firms and also fertile ground for academic research. Among the care the company should have with brands on consumer perceptions, promotional strategies based on reducing prices deserve attention. This study evaluates the impact of price promotions (discounts and offers) exerts on the Consumer-based Brand Equity (CBBE). Through an experimental study of the between-subject type, a sample of 300 college students divided equally into six test units was stimulated through print ads, to evaluate the CBBE of two sneaker brands (Nike and Diadora) which had three different discount levels (none, low and high) on a reference price - in a 2x3 factorial design - in order to assess if the presence and intensity of price promotions, present on the announcement, influence the perceptions of respondents about brands. The survey also assessed simultaneously the behavior of two different measurement methodologies: (1) the methodology of Yoo and Donthu (2001), which measures cognitive and behavioral elements and (2) the methodology of Vázquez, Rio and Iglesias (2002) which measures the Consumer-based Brand Equity based on two dimensions of use of the mark: functional value and symbolic value. Among the key findings of this research, it can be noted that - unlike the theoretical support - in this experiment, the promotion price when applied in print ads did not generate statistically significant impact on the overall average of the Consumer-based Brand Equity and neither on its dimensions separately. The main managerial contribution of this research is the indication of evidence that price promotions, when used as shortterm strategies, may still be one of the most used strategies to promote sales without prejudice to the value of the brand in consumer's perception. From the academic point of view, this work contributes mainly in the scale validation of Yoo and Donthu (2001) in the Brazilian context and experimental research. Likewise, this research helps validate the still underused scale of Vázquez, Rio and Iglesias (2002) indicating that this scale of measurement needs other more robust studies to acquire the necessary strength to its extensive use. Also as one of the academic implications of this research highlight the indicative that in the context of experimental research, the findings of authors like Yoo, Donthu and Lee (2000), Villarejo-Ramos and Sanchez- Franco (2005) and Buil, Chernatony and Martínez (2008, 2011) who identified the influence of price promotions on certain dimensions of Consumer-based Brand Equity deserve to be reviewed.

As marcas estão presentes no cotidiano dos consumidores e das organizações. Para os indivíduos, as marcas são carregadas de simbolismos, representações e complexos signos de posicionamento social enquanto, para as empresas, as marcas se tornam um ativo extremamente valioso, capaz de diferenciar as suas ofertas em um mercado comoditizado e influenciar o comportamento do consumidor. Neste cenário, o cuidado com a marca na percepção dos consumidores surge quase como condição para uma eficaz gestão estratégica de marketing nas empresas e, também, terreno fértil para pesquisas acadêmicas. Entre os cuidados que a empresa deve ter com as marcas sobre as percepções do consumidor, as estratégias promocionais baseadas na redução de preços merecem atenção. O presente estudo verifica o impacto que a promoção de preços (descontos e ofertas) exerce sobre o Consumer-based Brand Equity (CBBE). Por meio de uma pesquisa experimental do tipo between-subject, uma amostra de 300 estudantes universitários divididos igualmente em seis unidades de teste, foi estimulada através de anúncios impressos, a avaliar o CBBE de duas marcas de tênis (Diadora e Nike) que apresentavam três diferentes níveis de desconto (nenhum, baixo e alto) sobre um preço de referência - em um design fatorial 2x3 - a fim de avaliar se a presença e a intensidade das promoções de preços, presentes no anúncio, influenciariam as percepções dos respondentes sobre as marcas. A pesquisa também avaliou simultaneamente o comportamento de duas metodologias de mensuração distintas: (1) a metodologia de Yoo e Donthu (2001) que mensura elementos cognitivos e comportamentais e (2) a metodologia de Vázquez, Río e Iglésias (2002) que mensura o Consumer-based Brand Equity com base em duas dimensões de utilidade da marca: valor funcional e valor simbólico. Entre os principais achados desta pesquisa, pode-se destacar que - ao contrário do suporte teórico - neste experimento, a promoção de preços quando aplicada em anúncios impressos, não gerou impacto estatiscamente significativo sobre a média geral do Consumer-based Brand Equity e tão pouco sobre suas dimensões separadamente. A principal contribuição gerencial desta pesquisa consiste na indicação de evidências de que as promoções de preços, enquanto estratégias de curto prazo, podem continuar sendo uma das mais utilizadas estratégias de promoção de vendas sem prejuízo ao valor da marca na percepção do consumidor. Sob o ponto de vista acadêmico, este trabalho contribui principalmente na validação da escala de Yoo e Donthu (2001) no contexto brasileiro e em pesquisas experimentais. Da mesma forma, esta pesquisa ajuda a validar a ainda pouco utilizada escala de Vázquez, Río e Iglésias (2002) indicando que esta escala de mensuração precisa de outros estudos mais robustos até adquirir a solidez necessária à sua ampla utilização. Também como uma das implicações acadêmicas desta pesquisa, destacam-se os indicativos que, em um contexto de pesquisa experimental, os achados de alguns autores como Yoo, Donthu e Lee (2000), Villarejo-Ramos e Sanchez-Franco (2005) e Buil, Chernatony e Martínez (2008, 2011) que identificaram a influência das promoções de preços sobre certas dimensões do Consumer-based Brand Equity merecem ser revistos. / Brands are present in consumers life and organizations. For individuals, brands are loaded with symbolism, representations and complex social positioning signs. As for businesses, brands become an extremely valuable asset, able to differentiate their offerings in a commoditized market and influence consumer behavior. In this scenario, the care with the brand in consumers' perception emerges almost as a condition for effective strategic marketing management in firms and also fertile ground for academic research. Among the care the company should have with brands on consumer perceptions, promotional strategies based on reducing prices deserve attention. This study evaluates the impact of price promotions (discounts and offers) exerts on the Consumer-based Brand Equity (CBBE). Through an experimental study of the between-subject type, a sample of 300 college students divided equally into six test units was stimulated through print ads, to evaluate the CBBE of two sneaker brands (Nike and Diadora) which had three different discount levels (none, low and high) on a reference price - in a 2x3 factorial design - in order to assess if the presence and intensity of price promotions, present on the announcement, influence the perceptions of respondents about brands. The survey also assessed simultaneously the behavior of two different measurement methodologies: (1) the methodology of Yoo and Donthu (2001), which measures cognitive and behavioral elements and (2) the methodology of Vázquez, Rio and Iglesias (2002) which measures the Consumer-based Brand Equity based on two dimensions of use of the mark: functional value and symbolic value. Among the key findings of this research, it can be noted that - unlike the theoretical support - in this experiment, the promotion price when applied in print ads did not generate statistically significant impact on the overall average of the Consumer-based Brand Equity and neither on its dimensions separately. The main managerial contribution of this research is the indication of evidence that price promotions, when used as shortterm strategies, may still be one of the most used strategies to promote sales without prejudice to the value of the brand in consumer's perception. From the academic point of view, this work contributes mainly in the scale validation of Yoo and Donthu (2001) in the Brazilian context and experimental research. Likewise, this research helps validate the still underused scale of Vázquez, Rio and Iglesias (2002) indicating that this scale of measurement needs other more robust studies to acquire the necessary strength to its extensive use. Also as one of the academic implications of this research highlight the indicative that in the context of experimental research, the findings of authors like Yoo, Donthu and Lee (2000), Villarejo-Ramos and Sanchez- Franco (2005) and Buil, Chernatony and Martínez (2008, 2011) who identified the influence of price promotions on certain dimensions of Consumer-based Brand Equity deserve to be reviewed.

As marcas estão presentes no cotidiano dos consumidores e das organizações. Para os indivíduos, as marcas são carregadas de simbolismos, representações e complexos signos de posicionamento social enquanto, para as empresas, as marcas se tornam um ativo extremamente valioso, capaz de diferenciar as suas ofertas em um mercado comoditizado e influenciar o comportamento do consumidor. Neste cenário, o cuidado com a marca na percepção dos consumidores surge quase como condição para uma eficaz gestão estratégica de marketing nas empresas e, também, terreno fértil para pesquisas acadêmicas. Entre os cuidados que a empresa deve ter com as marcas sobre as percepções do consumidor, as estratégias promocionais baseadas na redução de preços merecem atenção. O presente estudo verifica o impacto que a promoção de preços (descontos e ofertas) exerce sobre o Consumer-based Brand Equity (CBBE). Por meio de uma pesquisa experimental do tipo between-subject, uma amostra de 300 estudantes universitários divididos igualmente em seis unidades de teste, foi estimulada através de anúncios impressos, a avaliar o CBBE de duas marcas de tênis (Diadora e Nike) que apresentavam três diferentes níveis de desconto (nenhum, baixo e alto) sobre um preço de referência - em um design fatorial 2x3 - a fim de avaliar se a presença e a intensidade das promoções de preços, presentes no anúncio, influenciariam as percepções dos respondentes sobre as marcas. A pesquisa também avaliou simultaneamente o comportamento de duas metodologias de mensuração distintas: (1) a metodologia de Yoo e Donthu (2001) que mensura elementos cognitivos e comportamentais e (2) a metodologia de Vázquez, Río e Iglésias (2002) que mensura o Consumer-based Brand Equity com base em duas dimensões de utilidade da marca: valor funcional e valor simbólico. Entre os principais achados desta pesquisa, pode-se destacar que - ao contrário do suporte teórico - neste experimento, a promoção de preços quando aplicada em anúncios impressos, não gerou impacto estatiscamente significativo sobre a média geral do Consumer-based Brand Equity e tão pouco sobre suas dimensões separadamente. A principal contribuição gerencial desta pesquisa consiste na indicação de evidências de que as promoções de preços, enquanto estratégias de curto prazo, podem continuar sendo uma das mais utilizadas estratégias de promoção de vendas sem prejuízo ao valor da marca na percepção do consumidor. Sob o ponto de vista acadêmico, este trabalho contribui principalmente na validação da escala de Yoo e Donthu (2001) no contexto brasileiro e em pesquisas experimentais. Da mesma forma, esta pesquisa ajuda a validar a ainda pouco utilizada escala de Vázquez, Río e Iglésias (2002) indicando que esta escala de mensuração precisa de outros estudos mais robustos até adquirir a solidez necessária à sua ampla utilização. Também como uma das implicações acadêmicas desta pesquisa, destacam-se os indicativos que, em um contexto de pesquisa experimental, os achados de alguns autores como Yoo, Donthu e Lee (2000), Villarejo-Ramos e Sanchez-Franco (2005) e Buil, Chernatony e Martínez (2008, 2011) que identificaram a influência das promoções de preços sobre certas dimensões do Consumer-based Brand Equity merecem ser revistos. / Brands are present in consumers life and organizations. For individuals, brands are loaded with symbolism, representations and complex social positioning signs. As for businesses, brands become an extremely valuable asset, able to differentiate their offerings in a commoditized market and influence consumer behavior. In this scenario, the care with the brand in consumers' perception emerges almost as a condition for effective strategic marketing management in firms and also fertile ground for academic research. Among the care the company should have with brands on consumer perceptions, promotional strategies based on reducing prices deserve attention. This study evaluates the impact of price promotions (discounts and offers) exerts on the Consumer-based Brand Equity (CBBE). Through an experimental study of the between-subject type, a sample of 300 college students divided equally into six test units was stimulated through print ads, to evaluate the CBBE of two sneaker brands (Nike and Diadora) which had three different discount levels (none, low and high) on a reference price - in a 2x3 factorial design - in order to assess if the presence and intensity of price promotions, present on the announcement, influence the perceptions of respondents about brands. The survey also assessed simultaneously the behavior of two different measurement methodologies: (1) the methodology of Yoo and Donthu (2001), which measures cognitive and behavioral elements and (2) the methodology of Vázquez, Rio and Iglesias (2002) which measures the Consumer-based Brand Equity based on two dimensions of use of the mark: functional value and symbolic value. Among the key findings of this research, it can be noted that - unlike the theoretical support - in this experiment, the promotion price when applied in print ads did not generate statistically significant impact on the overall average of the Consumer-based Brand Equity and neither on its dimensions separately. The main managerial contribution of this research is the indication of evidence that price promotions, when used as shortterm strategies, may still be one of the most used strategies to promote sales without prejudice to the value of the brand in consumer's perception. From the academic point of view, this work contributes mainly in the scale validation of Yoo and Donthu (2001) in the Brazilian context and experimental research. Likewise, this research helps validate the still underused scale of Vázquez, Rio and Iglesias (2002) indicating that this scale of measurement needs other more robust studies to acquire the necessary strength to its extensive use. Also as one of the academic implications of this research highlight the indicative that in the context of experimental research, the findings of authors like Yoo, Donthu and Lee (2000), Villarejo-Ramos and Sanchez- Franco (2005) and Buil, Chernatony and Martínez (2008, 2011) who identified the influence of price promotions on certain dimensions of Consumer-based Brand Equity deserve to be reviewed.

Over the years Instagram has grown successfully to an online platform whereindividuals and companies are constantly present. It has become a marketplace wherecompanies frequently can reach out to their customers with marketing. As a result, thishas created an impact on consumers' impulse buying behavior. Due to thesecircumstances, the purpose of this study was to examine whether the usage ofInstagram, time-limited discount codes, and the attitude toward influencers contributeto Swedish consumers’ impulse buying behavior. To examine this, three hypotheseswere developed from previous research on impulse buying, influencer marketing, pricepromotions, and the usage of Instagram. Primary data were collected through aquestionnaire with 306 respondents and further analyzed through the statisticalsoftware SPSS to be able to test the stated hypotheses.  The study questions to what extent time-limited discount codes on Instagram providedby influencers affect Swedish consumers’ impulse buying behavior. The results of thehypothesis testing confirm that there is a correlation between the factors, whichimplies that they have an affection for Swedish consumers. However, the test showedthat the usage of Instagram is the factor with the highest correlation with impulsebuying. Additionally, when analyzing the answers in the questionnaire it showed thatdue to various circumstances such as lifestyle and income the extent of affectiondiffers. The result is supposed to facilitate companies with their marketing to get anunderstanding of consumers’ impulsive buying behavior on Instagram for futureresearch.

“Freemium” (Free + Premium) hat sich zu einem führenden Preismodell für digitale Güter entwickelt. Dabei kann die Basisversion eines Produkts, z.B. von Handy-Applikationen (“Apps”), unbegrenzt kostenlos genutzt werden und Firmen bieten Premium-Erweiterungen gegen Bezahlung an. Konsumenten haben in 2018 194 Milliarden mal Apps heruntergeladen und 101 Milliarden US-Dollar für In-App-Einkäufe ausgegeben. Beinahe 80% des Umsatzes auf App-Stores wird dabei durch Handyspiele generiert. 2,4 Milliarden Menschen haben in 2019 Handyspiele gespielt, was der Hälfte aller App-Nutzer im gleichen Zeitraum entspricht. Die Hauptthese dieser Dissertation ist, dass preisreduzierende Sonderangebote von großer Wichtigkeit für das Vermarkten von Freemium-Gütern sind: Obwohl Freemium bereits eine extreme Preis-Reduktion darstellt, indem es ein Produkt Konsumenten kostenlos zum Ausprobieren zur Verfügung stellt, können demnach Firmen durch die Nutzung weiterer Sonderangebotstaktiken höhere Profite generieren. Die Arbeit postuliert weiter (und beweist dies empirisch), dass lange angenommene Risiken in der Nutzung von Sonderangeboten, die vor allem bei klassischen Konsumgütern etabliert wurden, im Freemium-Bereich in dieser Form nicht zutreffen. Diese Perspektive entwickelt und vertieft der Autor über vier individuelle Papiere, die zusammen mit einer einleitenden Zusammenfassung die fünf Kapitel dieser Dissertation ausmachen. Die vorliegende Arbeit ist empirischer Natur und wendet “Advanced Analytics”, insbesondere Feldexperimente und maschinelles Lernen, in Zusammenarbeit mit Firmen an. Als repräsentativer Forschungsgrund dienen dabei Freemium-Handyspiele, in denen Firmen detaillierte Daten über Interaktionen mit Kunden sammeln. Anhand dieser Daten leitet der Autor neue Kenntnisse über Kundenverhalten ab und entwickelt Entscheidungsunterstützungssysteme, die es Firmen ermöglichen, höhere Gewinne beim Verkauf von Freemium-Gütern zu erzielen. / “Freemium” (free + premium) has become a workhorse pricing model in the digital economy: A basic version of a product or service, e.g., mobile applications (“apps”), can be used for free in perpetuity and premium upgrades are available against payment of a fee. Consumers downloaded apps 194 billion times in 2018 and spent $101 billion on in-app purchases in the same time period. Accounting for almost 80% of that revenue, gaming in particular has seen an unparalleled expansion of demand. It is estimated that 50% of mobile app users play games regularly and that a global total of 2.4 billion people will play mobile games in 2019. The core thesis of this dissertation is that promotions are essential to the marketing of freemium goods such as mobile apps and games. While freemium already represents a promotional pricing tactic in using a zero price for free sampling, the author conjectures that firms can operate their freemium offerings more profitably by using further promotional tactics, especially targeted and personalized promotions, to sell premium upgrades. The author also argues (and shows) that widespread concerns around the use of promotions, particularly developed in the setting of consumer packaged goods, do not apply in the same way in this setting. This thinking is qualified and developed across four chapters that represent individual papers after providing an introduction to the work in the first chapter. The work is empirical in nature and applies advanced analytics, in particular field experimentation and machine learning, in collaboration with firms. As representative of the freemium app economy, the collaborating firms observe dense user data that enable the author to both derive insights on consumer behavior that extend existing conceptual thinking in the field of marketing and to devise decision support and expert systems that allow firms to operate more profitably in this setting.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka om prisreducering, julhandel, känslor och erfarenheter på den svenska online-marknaden följer tidigare påvisat konsumtionsmönster i fysiska butiker kring Black Friday. Metod: Tvärsnittsstudien har utförts bestående av en enkätundersökning för att identifiera mönster och samband för Generation Z:s konsumentbeteende under Black Friday i förhållande till de fyra faktorerna. Totalt deltog 119 st studenter från Högskolan i Borås i enkätundersökningen från ett bekvämlighetsurval. Resultat: Studien visar på ett etablerat samband mellan vikten av prisreduceringar och julklappshandel. Vidare visade resultatet på en positiv relation mellan associationen av positiva känslor och tidigare positiva erfarenheter där stockout, tidseffektivitet och spontanshopping hade en större påverkan. Slutligen gick det även att observera en positiv relation mellan associationen av negativa känslor och tidigare negativa erfarenheter. Dock kunde ett undantag identifieras då tidseffektivitet visade på ett negativt samband där erfarenheten inte ökar associationen av negativa känslor. Originalitet/Värde: Då utformningen av marknadsföringen är vital för att generera en ökad försäljning blir det också viktigare att förstå vad som driver konsumenten till köp. Tidigare studier undersöker primärt den fysiska marknaden men då internet utgör en stor del av vardagen för Generation Z blir online shopping mer och mer relevant. Online-handeln i Sverige fortsätter att växa kontinuerligt och konkurrensen ökar avsevärt varje år. Studien har därför bidragit med en ökad förståelse för hur exempelvis företag, marknadsförare och e-handelsbutiker ska kunna anpassa marknadsföringen under Black Friday och liknande prispromotionshögtider för att möta konsumentens behov. / Purpose: The aim of the study is to investigate whether price reduction, Christmas shopping, emotions and experiences in the Swedish online market follow previously demonstrated consumption patterns in brick and mortar stores around Black Friday. Methodology: The cross-sectional study was conducted consisting of a survey study to identify patterns and relationships for Generation Z's consumer behavior during Black Friday in relation to the four factors. A total of 119 students from the University of Borås participated in the survey from a convenience sample. Findings: The study shows an established connection between the importance of price promotions and Christmas gift shopping. Furthermore, the results showed a positive relationship between the association of positive feelings and previous positive experiences where stockout, time efficiency and spontaneous shopping had a greater impact. Finally, a positive relationship between the association of negative feelings and previous negative experiences was established. However, an exception could be identified due to time efficiency showing a negative relationship where the experience does not increase the association of negative feelings. Originality / Value: As the design of marketing is vital for generating increased sales, it also becomes more important to understand what drives the consumer to make a purchase. Previous studies primarily examine the physical market, but as the internet forms a large part of everyday life for Generation Z, online shopping is becoming more and more relevant. Online commerce in Sweden grows continuously and competition increases significantly every year. The study has therefore contributed to an increased understanding of how for example companies, marketers and e-commerce stores can adapt marketing during Black Friday and similar price promotion holidays to meet consumer needs.This thesis is written in Swedish.

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