M. Strahilevitz et Jg. Myers, DONATIONS TO CHARITY AS PURCHASE INCENTIVES - HOW WELL THEY WORK MAY DEPEND ON WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO SELL, Journal of consumer research, 24(4), 1998, pp. 434-446
This article focuses on the bundling of products with promised contrib
utions to charity. Two lab experiments and one field study are conduct
ed that compare the effectiveness of promised donations to charity in
promoting ''practical necessities'' (e.g., a box of laundry detergent)
to their effectiveness in promoting ''frivolous luxuries'' (e.g., a h
ot fudge sundae). The results suggest that charity incentives are more
effective in promoting frivolous products than in promoting practical
products. This research extends prior work on the effects of bundling
complementary positive outcomes into the domain of affect-based compl
ementarity with product-charity bundles.