Veritatis Gaudium: Multidisciplinary Journal of Postgraduate Studies

This study investigates the effects of three pricing strategy dimensions, namely psychological pricing, value-based pricing, and penetration pricing, on consumer perception as a single composite construct within Nigeria's soft drink manufacturing sector. Consumer perception is operationalized as the mean of a five-item composite instrument capturing purchasing behaviour, perceived price fairness, purchase intentions, consumer loyalty, and purchasing ability as unified indicators of the overall consumer perception construct. The Nigerian beverage industry, operating under persistent macroeconomic pressures, inflationary conditions, and intensifying competitive rivalry, presents a commercially significant but empirically understudied context for pricing-consumer behaviour research. Grounded in Behavioural Pricing Theory, Prospect Theory, and Consumer Perceived Value Theory, the study adopts a quantitative cross-sectional survey design, drawing on data from 439 respondents across FCT Abuja, Kaduna State, and Nasarawa State. A 30-item structured questionnaire was administered, and ordinary least squares multiple regression analysis was applied with consumer perception composite (CP) as the common dependent variable across three models. All three pricing dimensions exert positive and statistically significant effects on the consumer perception at p < 0.001. Value-based pricing emerges as the most powerful driver (Beta = 0.438, R² = 0.418), followed by penetration pricing (Beta = 0.395, R² = 0.376) and psychological pricing (Beta = 0.409, R² = 0.384). The findings confirm that pricing strategy is a significant positive determinant of holistic consumer perception in Nigeria's soft drink market and carry important implications for pricing strategy design, brand management, and consumer welfare policy.

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