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With consumer spending showing no signs of unthawing, retailers are keen to capture the perception of being a value leader. So what's the right shopper marketing strategy to help a company or a brand capture a reputation as "being a good deal?"

Ryan Hamilton, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University's School of Kellogg Management, and his colleagues explores the impact that an upscale (more expensive) or a downscale (cheaper) product line extension has on an in-store purchase decision.

In his paper, titled The Impact of Product Line Extensions and Consumer Goals on the Formation of Price Image (whew . . .), Dr. Hamilton conducted computer based shopping studies on university students to figure out whether a lower priced addition to product lines (like private label brands) had an impact on value perception. In a word, yes.

In one of 3 studies conducted, consumers given the choice of buying a DVD player in a product line with an upscale option and one in a product line with a downscale option overwhelmingly chose to buy the DVD player in the line with the cheaper option. Go figure.

Here's the link