Drawing on previous research which proved the effect of price unfairness perceptions on customer dissatisfaction, Xia, Monroe and Cox (2004) suggest that price fairness perceptions influence assessments of product value and customer satisfaction.

They classify the antecedents of price unfairness perception into four groups: the variables that specify the context of the comparative transactions, information that provides reasons why a certain price is set, information retrieved from previous transactions and general knowledge or beliefs about sellers’ practices.

Price unfairness can have two types of emotional outcome: feelings of uneasiness or guilt in case of an advantaged inequality, or feelings of disappointment, anger, or outrage in case of a disadvantaged inequality. Those feelings determine the type of actions that buyers may take when they perceive prices as fair or unfair: no-action in an advantaged or slightly disadvantaged context, self-protection when buyers are upset because of an inequality they perceive as unacceptable, revenge «when a strong negative emotion, such as anger or outrage, occurs with a perception of price unfairness» (Xia, Monroe and Cox 2004)

What should you do to tackle unfair price perceptions?

• Decrease Transaction Similarity
  Product customization and differentiation help decrease transaction similarity and the likelihood of price unfairness perceptions. Be careful however: price differentiation without corresponding product customization may evoke price unfairness perceptions among consumers.
• Anticipate Reactions to Price Differences and Provide Relevant Information
  It will help the buyer sort out whether the seller is responsible for the price differences and whether the seller benefits from such differences (remember supermarkets under scrutiny in France when food prices increase)
• Manage Customer Relationships
  Why ? Because trust is an important factor that influences perceptions of price fairness.
• Damage Control When Perceptions of Unfairness Arise
  The importance of complaint management is widely acknowledged to mitigate the negative effects of negative emotions. When faced with a complaint companies have only two alternatives: ignore it or deal with it. Hirschman (1970) calls these feedback mechanisms exit and voice.