“Right” on the day: How the timing of date‐specific promotions influences consumer responses

abstract

While it is common for companies to send greetings that include special promotions to their customers on special days (e.g., birthdays, holidays, etc.), consumers express mixed responses to such date-specific promotions. Building upon the persuasion knowledge model, the present work examines the conditions under which sending date-specific promotions lead to favorable consumer responses. In four studies, we demonstrate that consumers respond to date-specific promotions more positively when they are sent in advance than when they are sent on specific days, especially for companies perceived as less warm (vs. warm). Sending promotions on the exact day elicits an ulterior motive inference from consumers regarding the company, which can be alleviated by sending promotions in advance. We further find that this effect is weakened when the message includes only greetings without highlighting specific promotional information. These findings have important implications for marketers regarding how firms should design date-specific promotions and communicate with their customers.