Using variety-seeking-based segmentation to study promotional response

The link between variety seeking and promotional response has been of interest to marketing researchers for quite some time. By segmenting consumers according to their variety-seeking needs, researchers have established some interesting results regarding the variation in promotional response across segments. However, the sole basis for segmentation thus far has been unidimensional (e.g., high-and low-variety seekers). This research discusses a unique way to segment consumers based not only on the usual extent (or mean) of variety seeking but also on the intensity (or consistency) of variety-seeking behavior, a new segmentation criterion. The authors conduct an empirical study to test the two-dimensional segmentation scheme and investigate differences in response to a variety of promotions across the segments. The inclusion of the intensity aspect of variety seeking as an additional basis for segmentation has a significant impact on promotional response and offers substantially richer managerial interpretation.