Pink Tax and Gender-Based Pricing Strategy: Psychological Drive

and Strategies on Female Consumption Behavior

Yuming Yang

Academy of Music, Hunan University of Technology, 412000 Hunan, China

Keywords: Pink Tax, Female Consumption, Consuming Behaviour, Price Discrimination, Pricing Strategy.

Abstract: Now, the female consumer groups are facing a consumption state that many product brands are priced

according to male and female market differentiation, which belongs to the price discrimination for female

consumers and is also called the “Pink Tax”. This phenomenon has gradually attracted the attention of

consumers. Therefore, this paper adopts the case study method and selects L'Oreal marketing cases to deeply

analyze the brand strategy and social influence behind gender-based pricing, explore the psychological drive

and perception of female consumers, and discuss the response of brands to this phenomenon. The study found

that emotional marketing can synergistically influence gender-based pricing. The psychological cognition and

decision-making mechanism of female consumers can be affected in many ways, the gender-based pricing is

not optimistic about the brand trust and loyalty from the long-term influence, so the phenomenon of “Pink

Tax” can not only increase the female’s economic burden but also affect the public order in the market

consumption, so the brand pricing shall be reasonably optimized to make the market consumption form into

a good circulation, also benefit for maintaining the gender equality in society.

1 INTRODUCTION

With the continuous development of social economic

level in China, education popularization of the female

is increased, and the sense of self-independence is

awakening, the female consumption level has

improved and become the main consumer in the

market consumption, so the word “Sheconomy” came

into being (Ma, 2021). Many brands begin to pay

attention to the female’s consumption behavior and

psychology characteristics, they obtain the data of the

female’s consumption behavior through some

technical means and make a deep analysis, to draw up

effective marketing strategies (Cai, 2024). Based on

such a large consumer group, the consumption trap

for females appears in the market. The premium

problem in the gender-based pricing will make the

female pay more money than the male. The

phenomenon of “Pink Tax” is becoming common,

which will affect the normal rights and interests of

female consumers, so it is required to pay attention.

In the existing literature, many of them analyze the

female’s consumption behavior and psychological

characteristics and also focus on price discrimination.

Still, there exists a blank in the study of brand pricing

strategy analysis and its social influence.

This study is very meaningful to maintaining the

public order of the consumption market and

promoting the concept of equality between males and

females. The word “Pink Tax” is the overall summary

of the relevant embodiment of gender-based

inequality, which will make the differentiated pricing

according to gender, its essence is that consumerism

extracts the consumption power of a huge group of

female consumers and promotes the female to pay for

the product premium through various of factors for

self-identity and group belonging (Lei, 2024).

Although this phenomenon is increasingly common,

the consumers shall not accept it as normal, the value

of a product or service shall not be produced the

premium because of gender difference and shall not

be imposed on the female consumer groups.

This study aims to discuss the consumption

pattern of brands for females and focuses on the

following topics: How do the brands adopt gender-

based pricing to shape female consumption behavior;

How the female consumer groups look at and respond

to this phenomenon, and how the consumption trap

for the female is changed in the society equality of the

male and female. In the study, the existing relevant

data and literature are made the reading and analysis

by adopting the literature analysis method, the

advantages of this method can symmetrically

328

Yang, Y.

Pink Tax and Gender-Based Pricing Strategy: Psychological Drive and Strategies on Female Consumption Behavior.

DOI: 10.5220/0014113400004942

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Applied Psychology and Marketing Management (APMM 2025), pages 328-332

ISBN: 978-989-758-791-7

summarize and analyze the theoretical and empirical

studies in the related fields, as, the problems and

objects to be studied can be deeply understood, the

blanks and opportunities for research can be

identified, which benefit for providing the direction

and suggestion for subsequent studies. In addition,

this paper also uses the case study method to make the

case restoration analysis for the L’Oreal—well-

known beauty and skincare brand, from which

obtains the theory on the “Psychologic Price

Premium” and “Market Risk and Trust Balance” in

the gender-based pricing, which makes this study

more convincing and ensure the readers can

understand better, also, benefit for the conduction of

this study. The final objective of this study is to

deeply dig into the brand marketing and pricing

strategy in the market, make the consumer intuitively

understand the trap and effectively avoid it. Here, we

also call on the market to make changes to protect the

female’s basic rights and interests, make the female

consumer be treated fairly, and not make the

consumer lose their basic trust in the brands.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

In the times of the increasing of people educated and

the rapid development of the economy, the concept of

gender equality is deeply rooted in the people, and the

female power is rising rapidly. In modern society,

female have won their due status, but gender

discrimination still exists, there is still discrimination

in some ways for males and females, thereinto, the -

price discrimination is one of the common

phenomena in life (Fang, 2019). The female

consumer groups are facing a consumption status that

many brands are made the differentiated pricing

according to the male and female market. The

existing literature mostly analyses the characteristics

of female consumer groups from three aspects

consumption level, consumption behavior, and

pricing strategy.

In terms of the female consumption level, the

continuous development of the economy and

education level made the self-awareness of females

gradually awake, and the lifestyle and fashion sense

of female consumers are becoming diversified

(Chiang and Yu, 2010). The requirements for their

life quality are stronger and stronger, so many

products and services aimed at the female in the

market make the female purchasing power grow

continuously and the consumption level is also

increased.

In terms of female consumption behavior, Guan

Wenwen mentioned when females consume, they not

only “need” the product, but even “want” the product

in the Paper Study on Female Consumption Trend and

Behavior in Xiaohongshu Platform under the

Perspective of “Sheconomy”, they begin to focus on

themselves and take the consumption as a kind of

embodiment of enhancing self-value and satisfaction

of psychological demands (Guan, 2024). Therefore,

the market begins to fully consider the needs of the

audience, and analyse their consumption psychology,

directly to the pain point of the consumer, to make the

female consumer groups willing to consume, and the

female’s consumption behavior is increased.

In terms of the brand pricing strategy, in the Lei

Xiaoxue’s paper for Analysis on Causes of “Pink

Tax” in Semiotics Perspective, this phenomenon was

studied that the Merchant is pricing according to

different groups to maximize their profit. In this

highly competitive market, gender also becomes one

of the rules to divide the market, many products can

meet the needs of consumers without gender

distinction originally, but to focus on the

consumption groups better, they transfer the key to

products into the package and appearance of products

according to the gender distinction (Lei, 2024). Due

to the existence of huge female consumer groups,

many product brands take advantage of the

consumption psychology and consumption habits of

female consumers to generate a price premium, which

results in the special products of the female have an

inflated price, even compared with the same products

of the male, there also exists the unacceptable price

difference.

The existing studies, have focused on female

consumption psychology and consumption behavior

trends, but the deep discussion of the brand strategy

and social influence behind gender-based pricing (i.e.

Pink Tax) is not enough, so this study starts with

gender-based pricing differentiation of L’Oreal

product, the marketing and pricing strategies of

L’Oreal are studied to supplement the blanks in the

existing studies, explore how the female consumers

look on the gender-based pricing and discuss the

treatment of brands in this phenomenon.

3 CASE INTRODUCTION

L’Oreal is a well-known beauty brand, it has a wide

range of product series, thereinto, the face cleanser

and face cream are the hot-selling products, which are

divided into the female and male series, but the price

of the female series is more expensive than the male

Pink Tax and Gender-Based Pricing Strategy: Psychological Drive and Strategies on Female Consumption Behavior

329

series, for example, the price difference of face

cleanser is dozens of yuan, the price difference of face

cream is even hundreds of yuan. For the face cleanser

and face cream, the female has more choice than the

male about the function, which is also one of the

reasons for the price difference.

From the above examples, when the Marketers of

L’Oreal sell its products, there exists a differentiated

marketing strategy, for example, when selling female

products, there are many functional descriptions for

‘tightening’, ‘rejuvenation’, ‘gentle, moisturizing’,

and ‘anti-wrinkle’ in the product introduction, while

for the same product of the male, the product

introduction is more concise and clearer. These

products utilize the characteristics that the female

consumers have the “self-pleasing” consumption

concept and paying more attention to their skincare,

plus with L’Oreal brand image and influence, all of

which make the female willing to receive more

expensive prices and pay for it.

Now, the gender-based pricing is gradually being

focused on in society and there are also many reports

about this phenomenon to make many consumers

aware of the gender-based pricing. There are many

kinds of skincare and beauty makeup product brands,

and their functional effect is also similar, which gives

the consumers a wide choice and is no longer

committed to one brand. More female consumers will

choose more cost-effective and inexpensive brands,

to avoid falling into the “Pink Tax” consumption trap.

However, there are still some female consumers, who

believe in the principle that “you get what you pay

for” and persist in some expensive brands, they think

this is the manifestation of self-worth and status (Li,

2010). Furthermore, they have a strong loyalty to the

brands, based on the long-term use habits or

recognition of the brand concept and resonance of the

brand stories, all of which will make the female

consumers support the high price brands.

4 CASE ANALYSIS

4.1 Coordination Effect of

Gender-Based Pricing and Emotion

Marketing

L’Oreal organizes a global public welfare activity of

“She Protects”, which aims to empower females to

truly make them realize the freedom of beauty by

passing on “how to identify and deal with street

harassment”, this topic arises a wide resonance from

females. The decision of female consumers to

purchase the product is largely influenced by

perceptual factors, so when making the brand

publicity marketing, firstly impress the female

consumer groups and focus on the perceptual

characteristics, to have a direct influence on them

(Tang, 2022).

Therefore, L’Oreal’s advertising language just

uses this to affect female psychology, make the

female receive this brand and products, improve their

recognition and support for the brand, and shape the

brand image. Also, this product is made the emotional

marketing by clearly seeing into the female’s

psychology and focusing on the social phenomenon

that the female faces.

In the moment when the Users pay attention to

their self-feelings, the emotional value is particularly

important. Especially for the female groups, the

products with the temperature and human touch will

impress them even more (He and Li, 2023). The

L’Oreal brand occupies the consumer’s mind and

attracts many female consumers by expressing their

opinions and establishing emotional links.

4.2 Psychological Cognition and

Decision-Making Mechanism of

Female Consumers

A survey from New York, Washington found that

female consumers will always pay more money than

males for goods without essential differences. This

study investigates nearly 800 products from more

than 90 online and offline brands in New York, which

found the prices of products for girls and females are

higher average of 7% than the products for boys and

males with the same quality, the phenomenon exists

in five categories of goods, including toys, children’s

clothing, adult clothing, and personal care products,

etc. (IDC, 2015).

In the era of internet popularization, some popular

science videos on social media make the females

know about the existence of “Pink Tax” and begin to

pay attention and reflect on whether they encounter

the same situation in shopping. When they face price

discrimination, they will make some comparisons and

call in question, to choose a more economical

alternative. But if the brand has its uniqueness, such

as irreplaceable services or products, or it can provide

the high-quality service, product after-sale, and

personalized experience for the consumers, it is also

ensured that the consumers can’t give up easily.

The L’Oreal is a well-known brand, its product

marketing and publicity will be backed by large-scale

company and its quality will be guaranteed. The

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words “patent” and “Cinema-level Product” can

make the product price increase reasonably, also

make the consumers more reliable in the functional

efficacy of the product and voluntarily pay a higher

price.

4.3 Long-Term Influence of

Gender-Based Pricing on Brand

Trust and Loyalty

More and more consumers can make the decision to

purchase the product according to the online reviews.

The purchase willingness of female consumers to the

beauty makeup products is significantly associated

with brand loyalty (Macheka et al., 2024).

When the L’Oreal sales the same male and female

products, the pricing is very far off, this phenomenon

will not make the female consumers completely resist

this brand within a short time, but from long-term

time, in the era of high speed development of

production power and increasingly abundant of

material resources, the supplies are far more than the

demands, the market can provide the consumers with

numerous and inexpensive alternatives, and the

choice of the female consumers is very widely, so

they must make the comparison among these products

(Cai, 2024). At this time, they will consider the

reasonability of brand price, the improvement of

awakening and consciousness from the female

consumers will make them understand that L’Oreal is

not the only choice, and the loyalty of female

consumers to the brands will be reduced, then choose

the other more cost-effective brands.

5 DISCUSSION

5.1 “Psychological Price Premium” in

Gender-Based Pricing

The market sets the different prices according to the

needs and preferences of different consumer groups,

and according to the intensity of female consumers’

demands for the products or services. Due to the

nature of female consumers, they are born with a

strong pursuit of beauty (Fu, 2009). The products

designed focusing on appearance and modelling are

more attractive to the female, and the products with

stronger demands will be increased the price, also, the

cost of products focusing on the female groups will

be higher in the brand publicity, but the actual cost

difference is sometimes not transparent or reasonable.

The L’Oreal brand takes the real and exquisite

insight as the entry point, returns to the focus on the

female’s inner health, actively speaks for the female,

and strikes a chord with the female for emotional

marketing. Also, this product utilizes the emotional

psychological characteristics of the female to make

them trust and accept this brand and be willing to pay

for the extra fees. This theory points out, that this

brand realizes the price premium through the

functional premium of the product itself, consumers’

psychological expectations, and self-identity.

5.2 “Market Risk and Trust Balance”

in Gender-Based Pricing

In the market competition, the brands need to find the

balance point between profit and brand trust in the

gender-based pricing, draw up the pricing strategies

that will benefit the brands and customers, then

conduct sufficient market research, deeply

understand the consumers’ demands, expectation and

their views on the gender-based pricing, continuously

monitor the consumers’ feedback on the pricing

strategies, finally flexibly adjust the pricing strategies

according to the market change and consumers’

demands to ensure the fairness of pricing strategies.

Or, the staging pricing strategies can be taken

according to the different levels of products or

services to set the different prices, the customers may

choose the products according to their demands, the

consumers can have a good consumption experience,

and the enterprise can also increase the sale income,

therefore, when the brands use the premium strategy,

the long-term trust and loyalty of the consumers can

be also considered to avoid the potential market risk.

6 CONCLUSION

The result of this study is that the “Pink Tax” does

exist in all areas of products or services, but some

consumers are unaware of it, the merchant will

skillfully adjust their pricing strategy according to the

consumers’ psychology, this is the differentiation

pricing according to the gender, which makes the

female consumer groups will pay for much more

money than the male when they enjoy the same

products or services as the male, the further

conclusion is that the gender-based pricing will make

the female consumers falling into the “Pink Tax”

consumption trap, increase the consumption

expenditure of the female groups and increase the

economic burden. The brands also make emotional

marketing by taking advantage of the psychological

Pink Tax and Gender-Based Pricing Strategy: Psychological Drive and Strategies on Female Consumption Behavior

331

characteristics of the female sensibility and easy

impulse consumption, establishing links with female

consumers. Or use discounts and other promotion

methods to attract consumers and affect their

consumption behavior.

The pricing strategies of brands shall be made the

reasonable optimization and shall be based on the

product cost, market demands, and other related

factors, not only because of gender, which shall not

cause price discrimination for any consumer group, to

shape the brand image. Also, the pricing strategies

shall be also borne certain social responsibilities to

make the market consumption form into good

circulation, which will benefit maintaining the social

public order. Otherwise, it will make the female

consumers the trust risk in this brand, and further

choose other brands.

This study still provides many valuable references

for future research in this direction, which mainly

affects the psychological decision-making

mechanism when female consumers choose the

brands and products in the future, helping the female

groups beware of some consumption traps, such as

“Pink Tax”. It also has a warning effect on the market,

reminding the merchants to create a good market

atmosphere and draw up reasonable pricing

principles. At the same time, this study also benefits

for pushing the society formation based on the

equality of the male and female. Future studies may

focus more on exploring the different responses to

gender-based pricing among females of different

ages, incomes, and education, then making a deep

analysis to improve the comprehensiveness of the

studies, it can also promote the formation of relevant

laws and regulations.

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