THE CONDITIONAL-PROMOTION PARADOX: HOW CONDITIONAL DISCOUNTS HURT TOTAL SALES

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

A discount that only kicks in after a big commitment can backfire and shrink total sales instead of growing them. A $700 discount on a $1,000 phone that only applies if the buyer signs a new two-year service contract is attractive, but the requirement is very high. Many shoppers can't take it. Seeing the discount at all makes paying full price feel like a worse deal than before. Instead of buying anyway, they walk away completely. The fix is to keep the requirement small, or target the offer only at customers who can easily meet it. A low-cost requirement paired with a big discount actually increases total sales the most.