Investigating the effect of external reference prices' representation on consumer behaviour with eye-tracking method

Abstract

According to the core principle of behavioural economics, consumers frequently apply heuristics when deciding which can lead to biased perceptions and decisions. In our investigation we concentrated some particular types of these heuristics, namely loss aversion, framing and reference point, when investigating the effect of external refermaking. In our research we implemented an eye-tracking method and complemented it with interviews and a short attitudinal survey at the end of the experiment. Our aim was to investigate the effect of the above- price evaluation and decision-making. We found that those who fixated on the prices longer could recall them more precisely. Furthermore, we found, that people concentrate more on the original prices when evaluating a sale offer, therefore, it is advisable to highlight the original price, which is a reference point, instead of the sale price. Surprisingly we found a negative connection between price consciousness and the fixation duration spent on the prices