Abstract: Platform price promotion has become an important issue in platform marketing. Different from the traditional mode in which merchants decide the price promotion, platform price promotion takes the platform as the decision maker of price promotion. In this paper, platform price discount model and cash coupon model are established, and platform optimal price promotion strategy is analyzed. Some findings are achieved. (1) Platform price promotion can only increase platform profits when the basic demand, consumer price sensitivity and commodity price meet certain conditions. (2) In the case that both price promotions can improve the platform’s profit, the platform’s transaction rate is higher and the commodity price is lower, so the platform’s profit of implementing cash coupon strategy is higher than that of price discount strategy; In other cases, the profit of price discount strategy implemented by the platform is higher than that of cash coupon strategy. (3) With lower transaction rates on the platform, consumers can get more discounts under the price discount strategy; Otherwise the cash coupon strategy will give the consumer more benefits. (4) Sellers’ advertising investment can increase the profits of promotion activities on the platform, but the price concessions on the platform are reduced, and the range of conditions for the platform to implement price promotion is reduced.

Key words: platform; pricing promotion; cash coupon; price discount; advertising investment