Price-Matching Guarantees and Consumer Evaluations of Price Information

In 3 experiments, we show that price-matching guarantees affect the process through which consumers translate price information into subjective judgments. In Experiment 1, we find that price-matching guarantees appear to change the standard used in price evaluation by raising consumers' estimates of the lowest and average prices in the market. This leads consumers to perceive products and stores that offer price-matching guarantees as less expensive. In Experiment 2, we show that evaluations of product price information are affected by the presence of a price-matching guarantee only when consumers do not know the range of market prices. In Experiment 3, we extend these findings to show that consumer evaluations of the cost of products in a store, inferred on the basis of store characteristics, are also influenced by the presence of a price-matching guarantee.