The Token-Effort Effect: Trivial Redemption Effort Increases Price Promotion Effectiveness
研究发现，要求消费者完成极简单的任务（如输入优惠码或验证码）来获得折扣，比直接自动打折更能提高促销兑换率，因为这种轻松任务让人感觉回报率高。
This research documents how introducing redemption tasks requiring a token (i.e., trivial) amount of effort—for instance, by asking the consumer to enter a promo code or solve a CAPTCHA to receive a discount—increases price promotion effectiveness compared with equivalent straight discounts (i.e., applied automatically). Eight studies (including two field experiments) and three additional Web Appendix studies provide robust evidence for the beneficial effect of token-effort requirements on redemption rates. This effect occurs because the easy-to-attain redemption task induces a high perceived return on effort. Thus, this effect only occurs when the redemption task requires token-type effort but not when it is effortful. This research offers costless and easy-to-implement managerial recommendations for boosting the promotional effectiveness of price promotions.