PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine consumer behaviors toward a bundle of tickets and lodging using two different message framing: (1) scarcity framing for a high demand event, the All-Star Game, and (2) discount framing for a lower demand event, an MLB mid-week game.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through two online surveys of 836 sport consumers in total on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and were analyzed using a mix of analysis of variances (ANOVAs) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).FindingsConsumers are likely to buy products separately in a scarce situation. When discounts are offered as benefits of choosing a bundle, consumers with high willingness to pay (WTP) have higher purchase intentions (PI) and perceived value toward cumulative discounts.Originality/valueThis is the one of few studies that investigate (1) price bundling of products from two disparate industries where consumer demands fluctuate, (2) the effects of scarcity in a bundle, and (3) all possible discount messaging in a bundle.

Prior research has examined consumer behavior toward partitioned pricing in various capacities, including types and number of surcharges and the use of dollars versus percentages. Given the fact partitioned pricing is not employed in every country, this investigation focused on consumer behavior toward this pricing strategy based on familiarity with partitioned pricing and cultural differences. An experimental design was implemented to examine South Korean and US sport consumers’ attitudes and behaviors related to ticket prices for a mega-sporting event. The findings showed all-inclusive pricing, in general, is preferred and culture does not significantly impact consumer behavior in this context. Additionally, familiarity moderated the relationship between cultural differences and consumer behavior. Consumers who were familiar with partitioned pricing were more attracted to partitioned pricing ticket offers and had higher purchase intentions compared to consumers who were less familiar with the practice. Implications of these findings are discussed along with directions for future research.