Count Up or Count Down? Effects on Luxury and Value Brand Evaluations
(A2026-133518)

AUTHORS

Emma Desmond, Bryant University; Kacy Kim, Bryant University; Sukki Yoon, Bryant University; Srdan Zdravkovic, Bryant University, Department of Marketing

ABSTRACT

This research compares two counting methods—counting up (1, 2, …, 9, 10) and counting down (10, 9, …, 2, 1)—to examine how counting direction in anticipation of a new product launch during an online promotion shapes consumer responses to luxury versus value brands. Across two experimental studies, we find consistent support for our hypothesis. For a luxury brand, counting upward before the product launch heightened consumer responses to both the advertisement and the product, whereas the reverse pattern emerged for a value brand: counting downward enhanced consumer evaluations. We demonstrate this effect using two different products—sneaker in Study 1 and a T-shirt in Study 2.