Managers and academics often think of price promotions merely as incentives that entice consumers to accept
offers that they might not have considered otherwise. Yet the prospect of paying a lower price for a product of given
quality can also discourage deliberation, in a sense “dumbing down” the purchase encounter by making it less
consequential. The authors examine this possibility in a dual-system theory of consumer behavior. Specifically, they
argue that price promotion lowers a consumer’s motivation to exert mental effort