The effect of the discounted attribute importance in two-sided messages

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to test the importance of the discounting attribute in the two-sided communication from a retail salesperson as a boundary condition that eliminates the trade-off between trustworthiness and purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach – The hypotheses are tested by three experimental studies in three different retail contexts. Two lab studies manipulate the importance of the attribute and the type of message: one-sided vs two-sided. A field study improves the external validity of the findings. Findings – A two-sided message from a salesperson reduces the use of persuasion knowledge and, therefore, enhances the consumer’s perception of the salesperson’s trustworthiness; this positive effect remains significant across different levels of importance of the discounting attribute. A two-sided message decreases the consumer’s probability of purchase only when an important attribute is disclaimed, through the consumer’s beliefs regarding the product’s attributes. Practical implications – For the appropriate use of two-sided appeals, retailers should identify the importance of product attributes from the consumers’ perspective. A negative remark from a salesperson when referred to an unimportant attribute makes no harm to purchase intentions while leading to stronger intentions to return to the store and to recommend the store by enhancing trustworthiness. Originality/value – This paper shows that it is possible to enhance trustworthiness through a two-sided message without mitigating the intentions of buying by discounting an attribute at low importance in the two-sided message.