Abstract

Purpose: As competition in the service industry intensifies, diverse marketing strategies, such as Gift-with-Purchase (GWP) promotions, are essential for creating unique touchpoints with consumers. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of GWP promotions in the service industry, focusing on the roles of perceived fit and promotion time in influencing consumer evaluations of promotional events. Research design, data and methodology: This study employed an experimental design using the Qualtrics platform and recruited a total of 156 participants via Amazon Mechanical Turk. The experiment followed a 2 (perceived fit: high vs. low) × 2 (promotion time: short vs. long) between-subjects design, with participants exposed to various promotional scenarios for capsule coffee machines. Result: The analysis revealed a significant interaction effect on promotion evaluations and purchase intention between perceived fit and promotion time. When perceived fit was high, consumer evaluations were more favorable with a longer promotion period. Conversely, with low perceived fit, a shorter promotion period led to more positive evaluations. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of aligning perceived fit with promotion time to enhance GWP strategies. Tailoring promotion duration to fit the gift and core product optimizes consumer responses, improving promotional impact and purchase intentions in the service industry.