Abstract Brand switching regret can be divided into three dimensions such as regret due to foregone alternatives, regret due to a change in significance and regret due to under-consideration. Also, cognition of sales promotion can be separated into three dimensions such as cognition of current brand, cognition of all sales promotion activities and cognition of all promotional brands. Based on these analysis, the data collected from a psychological experiment is used to testify the occurring mechanism and post-influences of brand switching regret in decision-making of sales promotion. The results prove that not only both need for cognitive closure and relative brand stature can influence the degree of brand switching regret, but also brand switching regrets can lead consumers to have negative cognition of current brand, all sales promotion activities and all promotional brands. Consequently, those consumers who have high needs for cognitive closure will experience more brand switching regrets, and they will be more likely to show cognitive bias against current brand and all sales promotion activities. Although the relative brand stature has a significant influence on brand switching regret, it takes on special regularities in three dimensions of regret. While regret due to foregone alternatives and regret due to a change in significance have important influences on the cognition of sales promotion, these influences will not only weaken the brand asset of sales promotion brand, but also lead to negative evaluations on all the sales promotion activities and all promotional brands in the future.
