Effects of pictorial product-warnings on low-literate consumers

Abstract

Previous research has found that low-literate consumers tend to rely heavily on pictures to process marketplace information. The current study investigates the conditions under which pictures in product-warning statements become detrimental or beneficial for information processing among consumers with varying levels of literacy. The findings suggest that, relative to consumers with higher literacy levels, consumers with lower literacy levels display lower comprehension levels and make more errors when they view incongruent pictures in product-warning statements. The results also show that, consumers with lower literacy levels benefit significantly more in comprehension and in reduction of errors relative to consumers with higher literacy levels, with congruent pictures without text. A concluding discussion addresses theoretical and practical implications as well as future research directions on low-literate, low-income consumer behavior and subsistence consumer behavior.