Buy now before it expires: a study of expiration date-based pricing

Abstract

Purpose

Food waste and retail losses due to expiration dates are an important problem worldwide. Expiration date-based pricing (EDBP) is a price promotion technique consisting of charging different prices for perishable product approaching expiration date. The authors explore the influence of EDBP on impulse buying (IB) and on cognitive dissonance.

Design/methodology/approach

A mall intercept survey in Egypt was used to test the proposed model.

Findings

The results show that, while EDBP does not affect IB, it impacts cognitive dissonance. In addition, cognitive IB impacts cognitive dissonance, while affective IB does not.

Practical implications

Results suggest that there is a need to reconsider the effects of EDBP and call for alternative strategies to promote products approaching its expiration date, including strategies based on environmental protection by reducing waste arguments rather than on the sales promotional framework.

Originality/value

In spite of the importance of understanding consumer behaviour with perishable goods, this topic has taken little or no attention in the literature. The results provide useful insights for understanding EDBP.

Citation

Amr Yassin, C. and Soares, A.M. (2021), "Buy now before it expires: a study of expiration date-based pricing", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 49 No. 4, pp. 514-530. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-10-2019-0328