Consumer Psychology Research Articles

When consumer decisions are moral decisions: Moral Foundations Theory and its implications for consumer psychology

AbstractAlthough researchers have considered the role of morality in consumer psychology over the years, such investigations often fail to (a) recognize the different values that consumers might hold, and (b) provide proper context for why different moral considerations emerge. Moral Foundations Theory (MFT; Graham et al., Advances in experimental social psychology, 2013, Academic Press; Haidt & Joseph, Daedalus, 2004, 133, 55) provides just such a conceptual framework for understanding the diversity of moral thought that exists across cultures and demographic groups. MFT describes morality not as a monolithic entity, but as a pluralistic set of intuitive values that were shaped by evolutionary pressures and edited by distinct cultures. We review the central claims of MFT and describe how the theory can offer new insights when applied to consumer psychology, providing examples from existing research on persuasion, emotion, and prosocial behavior.

What moral identity and competing selves can add to moral foundations theory: Comment on Ramos, Johnson, VanEpps & Graham (2024)

AbstractIn a provocative and insightful analysis, Ramos et al. (Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2024) propose the introduction of Moral Foundations Theory (hereafter MFT)—as a useful framework to (1) explain moral consumer decision‐making more granularly and (2) set forth unique, testable future hypotheses in the field of marketing and consumer psychology. I discuss and build on their analysis to expand (1) but also narrow (2). I couch their conceptualization in the context of a multiple‐identity framework (Consumer Psychology Review, 2021, 4, 100) and move slightly away from their useful but perhaps more taxonomic approach. I try to buttress their work by situating MFT in the context of how the process of moral identity (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2002, 83, 1423) competes with other identities (cf. Journal of Marketing Research, 2020, 57, 375; Current Opinion in Psychology 2016, 10, 94) to help determine when and how the building blocks of moral foundations may become critical drivers of consumption in the areas of persuasion, emotions, and prosocial charitable consumer behavior.

Comparative Analysis of Impulse Buying Behaviour Across Retail Channels: A Study of Physical Stores, E-commerce Websites and Mobile Shopping Apps

"The nuanced dynamics of impulse buying behaviour across diverse retail channels unveil a fascinating interplay between consumer psychology and the unique attributes of physical stores, e-commerce platforms, and mobile shopping apps. Delving into the intricate landscape of impulse buying behaviour across three prominent retail channels, namely physical brick-and-mortar stores, e-commerce websites, and mobile shopping applications, sheds light on how retail environments shape and influence impulsive buying behaviours. Employing a comprehensive research framework that encompasses the realms of behavioural psychology, astute marketing strategies and the nuanced analysis of digital interfaces unveils the underpinnings that drive impulsive purchases in each distinct retail environment. By means of meticulous data collection and rigorous scrutiny, this research discerns the unique determinants of impulsive buying behaviour, encompassing consumer motivations, environmental cues and the pivotal role of technology becomes apparent. The comparative analysis not only enriches understanding of the impulse buying phenomenon but also provides actionable insights for retailers and marketers keen on creating bespoke strategies tailored to the specific attributes of each retail channel. Presenting realistic implications for businesses seeking to optimize consumer engagement and bolster sales in today’s multifaceted retail landscape, the recognition of the varied triggers behind impulse buying across different platforms empowers retailers to cultivate precision-targeted approaches that deeply resonate with their intended audience, thereby amplifying the efficacy of their marketing endeavours. Undertaking an exhaustive comparative analysis of impulsive buying behaviour"

Of happy larks and unhappy owls: Why morning versus evening types feel different levels of happiness from experiential versus material purchases

AbstractPeople can identify as morning types or evening types. Research has shown that evening types are generally less happy and have a lower sense of well‐being. While there is limited research in consumer psychology on chronotypes, one question may be asked: Would they gain from the experiential advantage (where people elicit greater happiness from experiential vs. material purchases) and become happier? We find that evening types, in fact, elicit lower levels of happiness from their experiential purchases compared to morning types and, in effect, feel happier from their material purchases. Furthermore, this is because of the greater subjective distance they feel from their experiential purchases. This research contributes to our understanding of long‐term happiness in a significant section of society—evening types and also calls on researchers to explore the topic of evening chronotype happiness and well‐being in greater depth from a marketing perspective.

The relationship of consumer psychology and consumer experience to consumer satisfaction and organisational performance: literature review

The relationship of consumer psychology and consumer experience to consumer satisfaction and organisational performance: literature review

Enhancing Consumer and Planetary Well-Being by Consuming Less, Consuming Better

The urgent need to address unsustainable consumption practices has become increasingly evident. While much traditional consumer behavior research serves to stimulate consumption, the focus needs to shift towards encouraging more sustainable consumption patterns. This commentary synthesizes insights from a roundtable discussion at the 2023 Society for Consumer Psychology Conference, which comprised an exploration of novel, creative, actionable, and theoretically sound avenues for getting people to consume less, consume better. The commentary tackles three essential questions: (1) What do we mean by consuming less, consuming better? (2) Who is/are responsible for such behaviors? (3) How do we get people to consume less, consume better? In doing so, it lays out several future research directions.

Historical and Theoretical Perspectives of Panic Buying: Consumer Behavior at Its Worst?

Panic Buying (PB) is an old phenomenon but has been in the news mostly because of the pandemic but in 2021 for other reasons. While there are supply-side reasons that make it difficult for marketers to sell, the demand-side reasons cause psychological difficulties in consumers. While there have been a few attempts to smooth over these situations, it would seem that every PB situation is different. This limits the applicability of lessons learned from one instance to another in the future. The paper attempts to provide (1) a historical perspective for PB, layout the nature of PB and (2) provide an overview of the various theoretical perspectives that can utilized to potentially to understand the consumer psychology behind PB. This is followed by a brief section on the implications of PB and discussion.

How violation of consumers’ expectations causes perceived betrayal and related behaviors: Theoretical perspectives from expectancy violation theory

Expectancy violation theory was used as a theoretical foundation to predict the influence of brands' norms violation, expectation violation, and moral violation in developing luxury brands' consumers' betrayals. We examined the perceived influence of betrayal on consumers' behaviors, such as vindictive complaining and retaliatory behavior. The present framework also checked the boundary effects of post-purchase regret on the impact of perceived betrayal on vindictive complaining and retaliatory behavior. Data was collected from 378 luxury brand consumers using a web-administered questionnaire. We applied PLS-SEM using SmartPLS 4.0. To analyze the data. Our results revealed that predictors, i.e., norm violation, expectation violation, and moral violation, positively develop consumers' perceived betrayal. Perceived betrayal significantly triggers vindictive complaining and retaliatory behavior. This research found that moderating effects of post-purchase regret strengthen the association between consumers’ betrayal and behavioral outcomes. We enrich our understanding of betrayal and consumer psychology, identifying how positive outcomes cause negative emotions in consumer behavioral responses and offering strategies for managers of luxury brands. We also acknowledge shortcomings and highlight future avenues for research.

Live streaming economy and green consumer behavior of farming products: A psycholinguistic forecasting by using social computation

From the perspective of psycholinguistics, live-streaming programs not only facilitate the accessibility of farming products for online consumers but also exert a social influence on psychological behavior. This study delves into the green behavior of online consumers regarding farming products, specifically targeting those interested in participating in live-streaming programs. By leveraging demographic information and consumer preferences, this study sheds light on online consumers' green behavior through extensive surveys. Cluster analysis is also employed to distinguish the categories of online consumer behavior and identify the underlying motivations of consumers within social networks. The probability of consumer clusters engaging with various categories of online green consumption is further examined through a Bayesian model. Additionally, the externality effect of social networks on online consumers' green behavior based on the live streaming economy is further simulated by the SIR model. Drawing on insights from psycholinguistics within the domain of live-streaming big data, this research provides profound insights for global managers aiming to gain a deeper comprehension of online consumers' green behavior within live-streaming programs showcasing farming products. Moreover, it offers critical support for the digital marketing of these farming products in the era of digital transformation.

Research on the Influence of Humor Response in the Context of Artificial Intelligence Service Failure: Moderating Effect Based on User Humor

With the development of high and new technology, artificial intelligence technology has been widely used in all walks of life. However, limited by the technical development level and the complexity of the service environment, the failure of artificial intelligence robots is inevitable. How to make an effective remedy has become the focus of attention of enterprises and academia. Based on cognitive-affective system theory of personality, benign violation theory and personality trait congruence theory, this paper conducts three situational experiments. This paper explores the relationship between artificial intelligence humor response, perceived sincerity and user forgiveness in the context of artificial intelligence service failure, and discusses the moderating effect of user humor degree. It is found that artificial intelligence humor response has a positive effect on user forgiveness in the context of service failure, and perceived sincerity plays a part of mediating role. In addition, for users with different degrees of humor, the same humorous reply will cause users to perceive different sincerity, and then lead to different users' forgiveness. This study complements the research on consumer psychology and behavior theory and remedy strategies in the context of service failure by artificial intelligence robots. At the same time, it provides a reference for enterprises how to dynamically adjust the artificial intelligence humor response level according to the user portrait, and further provides practical enlightenment for enterprises to implement effective remedy strategies.

Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Issues During the COVID-19 Period Using Topic Modeling

This study investigates media coverage of cosmetic surgery in South Korea from 2014 to 2023 using text mining techniques applied to news articles from BigKinds. It focuses on assessing the prevalence of objective information and the societal impacts of capital-driven misinformation. The research methodology involved optimal topic modeling through perplexity, likelihood, BIC, and similarity measures, identifying five themes within the cosmetic surgery news corpus. Further analysis included quantitative topic recognition via fuzzy clustering by period, sentiment analysis, and network analysis utilizing n-gram techniques to explore relationships between key terms. Findings reveal five main topics covered in cosmetic surgery news: Consumer Psychology, Cosmetic Surgery Market, Cosmetic Companies and Technologies, Side Effects and Incidents, and the Tourism Industry. The period from 2014 to 2016 saw significant coverage, particularly on medical tourism and surgical side effects, while in 2017, attention shifted to the surgical process and market stability. From 2018 onward, news coverage expanded, especially in May, focusing on cosmetic technology and related industries amid increased outdoor activities. With the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there was a resurgence in coverage of the cosmetic surgery market. In 2023, post-pandemic, there was an uptick in articles related to cosmetic surgery technology industries and support funds. The core words in cosmetic surgery news were spreading around "plastic surgery," "China," and "Botulinum". The study sheds light on the potential influence of capital on media portrayals of cosmetic surgery and the resulting societal consequences of misinformation.

The N270 as an index of consumer commodity color preference in the S1-S2 paradigm.

Affective decision-making is a prominent topic in consumer psychology research, with its core assumption being that consumers tend to purchase brands and commodities they like. However, the reasons behind why we develop emotional responses of liking or disliking toward certain commodities, as well as what the underlying neural mechanisms are, remain largely unknown. This study utilized the S1-S2 paradigm in an experiment wherein S1 presented 12 types of commodities and S2 displayed 48 distinct colored squares. Participants were instructed to assess whether they "Like" or "Dislike" the commodity in S1, which was colored with the S2 color. Electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings were obtained during the reaction process and subsequently analyzed to examine the components of S2-induced event-related potentials (ERPs). The analysis revealed that S2 elicited a significant N270 in the prefrontal scalp area under both the "Like" and "Dislike" conditions. Interestingly, the amplitude of the N270 was significantly higher during the "Dislike" condition compared to the "Like" condition. The N270 component was shown to reflect the conflict in physical attributes between S1 and S2, as well as the conflict between commodity and color. This highlights the potential utility of this component as an objective EEG indicator of consumer commodity color preferences in future marketing research.

The Inner Logic and Correlation Analysis of Game Recharging and Consumer Behavior: A Study Based on Consumer Psychology

The Inner Logic and Correlation Analysis of Game Recharging and Consumer Behavior: A Study Based on Consumer Psychology

Brand, Price, and Word of Mouth Impact Global Consumer Choices

This study examines the influence of brand image, price, and Electronic Word of Mouth (E-WOM) on purchasing decisions in the e-commerce platform, Shopee. Using a quantitative approach, data from 96 respondents in Sidoarjo Regency were analyzed through Smart-PLS Version 3.0. Results reveal significant effects of brand image, price, and E-WOM on purchasing decisions, with brand image reflecting reputation, effectiveness, and trustworthiness, while price considerations include affordability, quality alignment, competitiveness, and benefit congruence. E-WOM's impact is seen through intensity, content, and valence of opinion. These findings highlight the importance of these factors in influencing consumer behavior on Shopee. However, the study's focus on these three variables suggests a need for future research to explore additional factors impacting e-commerce purchasing decisions, contributing to a deeper understanding of consumer behavior in online retail settings. Highlights: Consumer Behavior: Brand image, price, and E-WOM influence Shopee purchasing decisions. Data Analysis: Smart-PLS analyzes 96 respondents' data on e-commerce behavior. Research Implications: Further exploration needed for comprehensive understanding of online consumer behavior. Keywords: e-commerce, Shopee, purchasing decisions, brand image, Electronic Word of Mouth (E-WOM)

The Practice and Development of Consumer Psychology Principles in Brand Marketing Strategies: A Case Study Based on Stanley and Lululemon

The Practice and Development of Consumer Psychology Principles in Brand Marketing Strategies: A Case Study Based on Stanley and Lululemon

Purchase intention for second-hand luxury goods: An empirical study of Chinese consumers.

Second-hand luxury goods feature both characteristics of luxury products like perceived value including social, emotional, and quality value, and second-hand goods like price-performance ratio. Enlarging the second-hand luxury market is of significance to protect the environment and save rare and valuable natural resources, and thus investigating the determinants of purchase intention is meaningful. From the perspective of the psychology of consumers, the influence of factors related to consumers (recycling awareness, subjective norms, attitudes, perceived behavioral control) and products (perceived value, price-performance ratio) on the intention to buy second-hand luxury goods is explored in this study through an online survey with Chinese consumers as a sample. The results are analyzed using the structural equation model (SEM) and show that consumers' attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and recycling awareness will promote the intention of purchasing second-hand luxury goods, and the perceived value and price-performance ratio of second-hand luxury goods also have a positive impact on the purchase intention. However, there is no significant relationship between subjective norms and purchase intention. In addition, this study also explores the interrelationship between constructs and draws corresponding conclusions, providing references for the subsequent development of the second-hand luxury market.

Global Impact of Renewable Energy Innovations

This study explores how product quality, price, and promotional attractiveness impact consumer purchasing decisions on Shopee in Sidoarjo, Indonesia, using a quantitative descriptive approach with 96 respondents. The findings indicate that higher product quality and attractive promotions positively influence purchase intent, while price sensitivity also plays a role. These insights are valuable for businesses in online marketplaces like Shopee, emphasizing the importance of maintaining high product quality, competitive pricing, and effective promotions to enhance consumer decisions and market performance. Highlight: Online consumer behavior analysis Quality and price influence purchases Promotions impact buying decisions Keyword: consumer behavior, online marketplace, purchase decisions, product quality, promotional attractiveness

Impact of Broadcaster's Social Presence and Ad Content Persuasiveness on Impulsive Purchase Behaviour in China Live Streaming: A Mediation Analysis of Arousal and Emotion

The rapid rise of live streaming in China has revolutionized digital communication and e-commerce, merging entertainment with instant consumer interaction. This study delves into the impact of suggestive advertising on impulsive buying behavior within the Chinese live-streaming market, employing the Elaboration Likelihood Model and Emotional Response Theory to analyze viewers' cognitive and emotional processing. Through a mixed-method approach combining quantitative surveys with qualitative interviews, this research captures insights from Beijing and Shanghai to explore how live streaming influences consumer behavior. Key findings indicate that suggestive advertising effectively triggers impulsive purchases, particularly when mediated by broadcasters' social presence and emotional engagement. This study highlights the nuanced interplay between technology, advertising strategies, and consumer psychology in shaping modern buying habits.

Data-driven View of Customer Psychological Anxiety Attributes for Cooperate Social Responsibility in Supply Chain Management: a LDA Model

Background-Cooperate Social Responsibility (CSR) in supply chain management requires understanding customer psychological anxiety attributes. A data-driven approach, such as using a Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model, can provide insights. By recognizing and addressing customer psychological anxiety, CSR can provide better support, which leads to higher customer satisfaction. When customers feel understood and supported, they are more likely to have a positive perception of the company and its supply chain services. Subjects and methods- The study aims to use the LDA method to explore consumer psychology anxiety and its attributes for CSR in supply chain management. The corpus is collected from the Web of Science core collection with keywords “CSR” and “supply chain management”, and 965 articles related to the field from1990-2022. LDA is a natural language processing technique that uncovers thematic structures in textual data. By applying LDA to customer feedback, businesses can identify anxiety attributes. Steps include data collection, preprocessing, LDA model training, topic interpretation, and deriving business insights. Results- The study used the Python program to run LDA, after putting in the text data, the study identify number of 11 topics according to the value of topic coherence, then identified topics based on the most representative words or phrases within each topic combined CSR and supply chain related knowledge and fit the service quality model to find the customer psychological anxiety attributes, the results reveal that customer tend to be anxiety about the aspects of reliability and assurance for CSR in supply chain management, more concern about the environmental and social aspects responsibility. Conclusions- The study revealed customer psychological anxiety about CSR initiatives and strategies within their supply chain management. The results show that consumers feel most anxiety about the aspects of reliability and assurance of supply chain management. They are concerned about the environment and social responsibility that the supply chain enterprise is taking, especially in the food supply chain field. By addressing these concerns, organizations can enhance customer satisfaction, build stronger relationships, and improve their overall CSR performance. The findings of this study also contribute to the field by providing valuable guidance, further research can add other text mining methods like structural topic modelling, or add deeper quantitative research in the field and develop of a new customer-CSR service quality model in the service industry.

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on social networking sites (SNS): Roles of information credibility in shaping online purchase intention

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on social networking sites (SNS) has become crucial in shaping online consumers’ purchase intentions, reflecting the growing reliance on rich nature of user-generated content and recommendations shared on these platforms. This study aims to investigate the intricate relationships among different factors of eWOM information, including information credibility, information usefulness, information adoption, attitude towards information, and their impacts on online purchase intention. This study draws upon the Information Adoption Model (IAM) and the Information Acceptance Model (IACM) foundation theory which reveal the steps individuals take in adopting new information, and focuses on how perceptions and attitudes towards information shape acceptance. The study used a quantitative approach, utilizing a structured questionnaire to collect data from 337 Vietnamese individuals actively engaged in eWOM activities on various SNS platforms. Statistical analysis was conducted using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings show that information credibility significantly influences both information usefulness and adoption. Interestingly, while information usefulness shapes user attitudes, it does not directly impact online purchase intention. Similarly, a positive attitude toward eWOM does not necessarily lead to information adoption. This suggests that consumers may hold favorable views of eWOM content without actively adopting it. Information adoption emerges as a critical determinant of online purchase intention, emphasizing the importance of promoting user engagement and trust in eWOM information. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of online consumer behavior and provide valuable guidance for stakeholders seeking to leverage eWOM effectively in digital marketing.