Motivating Events at the Point of Online Purchase: An Online Business-to-Business Retail Experiment

Abstract

The point of online purchase includes the location and conditions in which an online transaction takes place. The term usually comprises the presentation of the products available for purchase by consumers as well as the means of completing the transaction. Knowledge about how the online setting and the specific situation influence consumers at the point of online purchase setting may increase the success of online marketing activities. An online experiment was arranged for the analysis of motivating events at the point of the online purchase situation. A total of 1992 business-to-business customers from an online retailer were randomly assigned to two groups. The treatment group (n=999) received an up-sell offer related to either a product improvement and/or to a lower price offer within two months. The control group (n=993) did not receive any form of up-sell offers in the same two-month period. The results show that the treatment group had a conversion rate of approximately 39% for up-sell offers. Also, results show an increased revenue of 87.94% for the treatment group compared to the control group. Results of the experiment are discussed in relation to the concepts of rule and rule-governed behavior at the point of online purchase.