Abstract
In the online world, the “eyeball economy” has become mainstream. Whether regarding Internet cosmetic medicine endorsers or physical service providers, the topic of physical attractiveness has long been discussed in the field of medical beauty e-commerce. When receiving cosmetic medical services, consumers have frequent contact with employees. Physical attractiveness is the most apparent and easily observed employee characteristic, and consumers base their judgement and behavior on it. In this study, the relationship between the physical attractiveness of cosmetic service employees and consumers’ perceived risk is discussed and clarified. After 366 questionnaires were collected and analyzed, the results indicated that the physical attractiveness of cosmetic service employees was negatively associated with perceived financial, performance, physical, psychological, and social risk. The study offers suggestions for employers. They should recruit more attractive employees. This will increase consumer intention to purchase a service because the consumers’ perceived risks are reduced. It may also enhance repurchase intention and consumption frequency.
Highlights
The new generation will account for 29.5% of China’s population in 2020, while accounting for 53%of consumption in the country [1]
Subject to the halo effect, as the level of a service employee’s physical attractiveness increases, consumers have increasingly positive impressions to convince around relatives and friends regarding the cosmetic medicine image and service, which can affect perceived social risk [42]
The scale used to evaluate whether a particular person is attractive and measure the importance of physical attractiveness consisted of five items from Ohanian (1990) [57]
Summary
The new generation will account for 29.5% of China’s population in 2020, while accounting for 53%. The China Business Industry Research Institute announced that the Chinese cosmetic medicine market amounted to US $24.8 billion in 2018 and was estimated to exceed US $36.1 billion in 2020. Its market size is estimated to reach US $2.8 billion and to account for 8% of the cosmetic medicine industry market in 2020. This indicates that medical beauty e-commerce will represent a sizeable. Cosmetic medical services are an industry related to attractiveness. The aim of the present study is to realize the gap in the literature regarding how the physical attractiveness of cosmetic medicine servicers relates to consumers’
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
