(Reuters) - American Airlines on Wednesday said it plans to add nonstop flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport next year.
AMR Corp's American, which hopes to exit bankruptcy protection by merging with US Airways Group and forming the world's biggest carrier, said it would operate Boeing 777 planes on the flights to the Asian cities.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit in August challenging the proposed merger with US Airways, saying it would lead to higher prices. A federal trial in the case is set to begin on November 25.
Verizon is trying out a scheme where it'll offer same-day delivery for phones ordered online—first in Philadelphia, then hopefully in NYC, Dallas, San Francisco and Pittsburgh. Just in case you really, really need that new handset right now.
Why do discounts backfire when you make consumers wait?
Public release date: 15-Oct-2013 [
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Contact: Mary-Ann Twist JCR@bus.wisc.edu 608-255-5582 University of Chicago Press Journals
Consumers like to reap the benefits of discounts immediately (not later), according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. Consumers enjoy discounted products much less if they have to wait for them.
"Price promotions are common in the marketplace. For consumers, these promotions translate into real economic savings, guide buying decisions, encourage trial of new products, and make consumers feel smart and good about themselves," write authors Leonard Lee (Columbia University) and Claire I. Tsai (University of Toronto). But sometimes discounts backfire, especially if consumers need to wait to enjoy the product.
The authors examined how discounts influence pleasure-related consumption experiences. They found that discounts generally make consumers happier. But they also found that paying a lower price for a product reduces the need to justify the expenditure, which causes people to pay less attention during consumption, dampening enjoyment. The relative strength of these opposing forces depends on when the product is consumed after paymentright away or after a delay.
The authors conducted four experiments involving real spending and consumption, using a variety of products (chocolates, music, orange juice) and different durations of consumption delay. In one of the experiments, participants purchased one of two types of chocolate truffles at either the regular price of $1 or a discount of 50 cents. Half of the participants consumed the chocolate right away, and the other half waited for a week before consuming the chocolate. Consumers enjoyed the chocolate less when they had to wait a week.
"Our research provides new insight for better understanding the mixed effects of discounts on sales and loyalty, offering an explanation for why discounts may increase sales in the short run, but could have negative long-term effects on customer satisfaction and brand loyalty," the authors conclude.
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Leonard Lee and Claire I. Tsai. "How Price Promotions Influence Postpurchase Consumption Experience over Time." Journal of Consumer Research: February 2014. For more information, contact Leonard Lee or visit http://ejcr.org/.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Why do discounts backfire when you make consumers wait?
Public release date: 15-Oct-2013 [
| E-mail
| Share
]
Contact: Mary-Ann Twist JCR@bus.wisc.edu 608-255-5582 University of Chicago Press Journals
Consumers like to reap the benefits of discounts immediately (not later), according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. Consumers enjoy discounted products much less if they have to wait for them.
"Price promotions are common in the marketplace. For consumers, these promotions translate into real economic savings, guide buying decisions, encourage trial of new products, and make consumers feel smart and good about themselves," write authors Leonard Lee (Columbia University) and Claire I. Tsai (University of Toronto). But sometimes discounts backfire, especially if consumers need to wait to enjoy the product.
The authors examined how discounts influence pleasure-related consumption experiences. They found that discounts generally make consumers happier. But they also found that paying a lower price for a product reduces the need to justify the expenditure, which causes people to pay less attention during consumption, dampening enjoyment. The relative strength of these opposing forces depends on when the product is consumed after paymentright away or after a delay.
The authors conducted four experiments involving real spending and consumption, using a variety of products (chocolates, music, orange juice) and different durations of consumption delay. In one of the experiments, participants purchased one of two types of chocolate truffles at either the regular price of $1 or a discount of 50 cents. Half of the participants consumed the chocolate right away, and the other half waited for a week before consuming the chocolate. Consumers enjoyed the chocolate less when they had to wait a week.
"Our research provides new insight for better understanding the mixed effects of discounts on sales and loyalty, offering an explanation for why discounts may increase sales in the short run, but could have negative long-term effects on customer satisfaction and brand loyalty," the authors conclude.
###
Leonard Lee and Claire I. Tsai. "How Price Promotions Influence Postpurchase Consumption Experience over Time." Journal of Consumer Research: February 2014. For more information, contact Leonard Lee or visit http://ejcr.org/.
[
| E-mail
| Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Christina Milian and "Dancing With the Stars" pro Mark Ballas.
"Dancing With the Stars" pro Mark Ballas didn’t do the press line after getting booted from the ballroom alongside star Christina Milian on Monday night. The two-time mirror ball champion wasn’t planning on being ousted, and since the ejected duo leaves immediately for a New York media tour, Ballas had to go home and quickly pack some clothes.
As for his celebrity partner, Milian spoke to the media after the live broadcast about her surprise expulsion from the reality competition.
“I was shocked, for sure,” she told TODAY. “I’m not saying it should have been anybody else, but to be honest, after having a great performance you feel a bit more confident.”
Milian and Ballas indeed had excellent reasons to believe they were safe. Head judge Len Goodman gave them the first 10 of the season for their cha-cha Monday, and the duo was tied with Corbin Bleu and his partner, Karina Smirnoff, at the top of the leaderboard with a score of 28.
So why were fan votes — the lack of which sent Milian and Ballas packing — so far out of line with the scores?
Maybe last week's brouhaha, caused when guest judge Julianne Hough joked that Ballas tends to outshine his dance partners, played a role.
“Who knows?” Milian said. “I don’t want to blame it on her, (but) she is very present. She has a presence and is very likable.”
Milian's cha-cha kicked off with a series of solo moves that, as it turns out, were in direct response to Hough's remark.
“Yes, that was on purpose, absolutely,” Milian confirmed to TODAY. “Mark said, ‘Okay, if she thinks I overshadow you, we’re going to have a whole intro with you dancing.’"
“Mark and Julianne go way back,” noted pro Cheryl Burke. “I thought (her remark) was kind of harsh, but they grew up together and are really close. Maybe it was an inside joke?”
But the joke, if it was one, is now behind them. Milian is now focused on her gratitude to Ballas.
“I told him he did such a great job and (our being voted off) has nothing to do with (him)," she said. "I wish I could be here longer, but I have no regrets.”
But she does have that sense of shock — over that unexpected ouster. Even Leah Remini, who was in jeopardy before Milian got the ballroom boot, was surprised.
“I thought, ‘Wow, the show must be fixed,’” the comedic actress deadpanned.
But when a another reporter asked Milian if she thought that was a possibility, she was quick to shoot it down.
Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle, a documentary in three hour-long segments that will premiere back to back (to back) tonight on many PBS stations, begins with a curious image: Vincent Zurzolo of Metropolis Comics explains that a recent copy of Action Comics #1, which contained the first appearance of Superman, recently sold for over $2 million. He shows us Action Comics #1, and then ... he locks it in a safe.
It makes all the sense in the world: it's worth a couple million dollars. You lock it up. But locking it in a safe is an interesting image in part because it underscores what makes comics — and, more specifically, superheroes — a complex cultural phenomenon for a lot of people. As they've become more collectible, as they've become fetish objects, as they've become obsessions for their most ardent fans, they've become harder and more imposing for other people to wrap their minds around. And that's too bad, because comics — and, more specifically superheroes — make a marvelous lens through which to look at American popular culture more generally, even if you're not an enthusiast.
That's what Superheroes does well. None of what's here is going to be a big surprise to people who follow comics closely, but it's a fine three-hour tour of superheroes as an example for other people of the way popular culture is always in a dialogue with the other things that are going on around it.
In the evolution of superheroes over these three hours, you see the markings of immigration, World War II, the civil rights movement, the Space Age, censorship, feminism, corporatization of media, the evolution of print and the rise of digital, and the eternal nature of merchandising. You don't learn about superheroes just to understand how superheroes work; you learn about superheroes because it helps explain how everything in entertainment works and has worked for almost a hundred years. (This is also a recurring theme of Monkey See comics blogger Glen Weldon's book about Superman, by the way.)
There's a nice balance in the documentary between good and thoughtful placing of culture in context on one hand, and colorful stories on the other. Maybe you've heard all of Stan Lee's stories, but if you haven't, he's fun to listen to. The same goes for Jim Steranko, an artist who has maybe the best hair you'll see on PBS this year. (And that includes Downton Abbey.) And they speak pretty candidly at times — it's fascinating to hear one of the artists say he was always a pacifist, he always considered himself pro-civil-rights, but that when feminism came along, his first thought was that he should support it, rather than that he did entirely understand it.
You can't really understand current entertainment culture without comics and superheroes — for good or for ill — and while Superheroes isn't news to the ardent fan, it's a good and entertaining backgrounder for the curious, which is always to be appreciated.
My Monday here in Detroit was a very laid back one. I spent part of my afternoon hanging out with my parents and then spent the rest of the evening chillin’ at home with Sarah and Mark at their place. Because we HAD to watch Elizabeth Berkley perform on Dancing with the Stars last night, we loaded up on snacks and turned Sarah’s Den of SlackTM into the Den Of Snack :D We don’t have access do Detroit’s Better Made potato chips so it’s always a treat to indulge when I’m home again. So, yeah, I’m basically telling you that my night consisted of chips and DWTS. Woo! I go big here in Detroit Rock City.
We all enjoyed Elizabeth Berkley‘s ode to Saved By The Bell‘s Jessie Spano last night so I am not complaining about our relatively quiet night last night. I think we are going out to watch the Detroit Tigers play a game against the Boston Red Sox later today and I’m hoping that there will be sushi in my near future. The weather is a bit chilly here so I’m trying to acclimate as best as I can ;)
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