In an attempt to appeal to a broader market, most companies now offer products symbolically associated with stigmatized social identities, often advertising these products with discounts. Identity-based promotion and price promotion are usually good strategies, as indicated by earlier research, but the present research indicates that this method can have unintended adverse impacts. Findings from eight studies with various stigmatized groups in India and Asia indicate that if products linked with stigmatized identities are reduced in price, the members of those groups can respond adversely. Specifically, stigmatized consumers perceive these price cuts as offensive to their social identity, and thus are less inclined to purchase from the firm, more inclined to do so from rivals, and harmed in their attitude towards the firm. Whether the brand is regarded as an ingroup or outgroup member, the choice of other value products, and the promotional strategy are some of the factors that fuel such negative feelings, which are not observed among non-stigmatized consumers. The social risks of price-based promotions in stigmatized settings are brought to the fore by this research, which adds to our knowledge of stigmatized customers' interpretation of marketing cues as well
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