Consumer Product Evaluation Research Articles

Product Review Reading and Rating Statistics: How Do They Affect Consumer Product Evaluation?

ABSTRACTMarketers are concerned about how consumers' readings of product reviews and product rating statistics affect product evaluations. Previous studies generally regard product review content and rating statistics as affecting product evaluations independently. This may not be true. Typically, consumers enter a review section with pre‐existing positive expectations about a product. When they see a negative average rating in this section, their expectancies are disconfirmed. Their surprise stemming from the disconfirmation makes them read the reviews more carefully. Thus, review reading affects product evaluation more strongly when viewing a negative average rating. Conversely, a positive average rating results in expectancy confirmation, which weakens the effect of review reading. An eye‐tracking experiment using a mock‐resort review section supported these predictions. These findings have implications for marketers in behavioral advertising, responding to reviews, and consumers writing reviews.

Enhancing consumer evaluation of new products: The role of innovation newness and communication strategy

This study investigates how the psychological distance associated with innovation newness interacts with the construal level of advertisement (ad) appeal to influence consumer product evaluations. We conduct three studies to demonstrate how to optimize consumer evaluations of incrementally new products (INPs) vs. radically new products (RNPs) by examining the moderating role of concrete attribute vs. abstract benefit appeals in advertising. Study 1 reveals that greater innovation newness increases the psychological distance toward new products. Study 2 demonstrates that attribute appeal is more effective when paired with INPs, low-level concrete construal, whereas benefit appeal is more effective when paired with RNPs, high-level abstract construal. This outcome is further mediated through processing fluency. Furthermore, Study 3 demonstrates that the matching principle applies to utilitarian products, but with hedonic products, abstract benefit appeal improves the evaluations of both INPs and RNPs.

A Comprehensive Exploration of Text, Web, Social Media, and Geospatial Analytics for Informed Decision Making

Text Analytics is the process of turning unstructured text data into useful information for analysis, to gauge consumer opinions, feedback, and product evaluations. It also provides search functionality, entity modelling, and emotional analysis to enable fact-based decision making. Analysis of website visitor behaviour is done using Web Analytics. The number of websites and users on the internet is growing daily. It is the process of tracking website information that can help to improve the web application features and evaluate the behaviour of users. By performing social media analytics on social media for example twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Data such as likes, comments, shares and saves can be obtained and analyse to know how the society think about the product. Geospatial analysis is used to make visualizations that include maps, graphs, statistics that show data according to geographic location. This is important to be analysed as it tells which area or country has the highest product sold or lowest subscription of the service. To make the data much easier for human brain to analyses or to make a conclusion, data visualization design is the process of putting all data information collected into a visual context. For instance, graph or map. The main objectives of data visualization are to make it simpler or easier to spot the outliers and patterns trends in big data sets. There are a variety of clustering processes or techniques available to arrange the data efficiently to its related data. The clustering process that is used in data mining is presented in this work.

The effects of QR-pay scanning modes on consumer product evaluations

Quick response payment (QR-pay) is a fast, convenient, and safe form of mobile payment and has been rapidly popularized in recent years. When using QR-pay, consumers can choose to scan a seller's QR code (“the buyer-scanning mode”), or they can display their QR code for the seller to scan (“the seller-scanning mode”). In this paper, we proposed that QR-pay scanning modes affect consumers' evaluations of their purchased products. Through one field experiment and three online experiments, we found that the buyer-scanning mode (vs. the seller-scanning mode) enhances consumers' perceived autonomy and thus increases subsequent evaluations of their purchased products. In addition, product type moderates the above effect. The findings foster a cohesive understanding of QR-pay scanning mode effects.

Geographical indications as a labelling strategy: an empirical investigation of negative bias and its managing conditions

Purpose This study aims to examine the influence of two significant product labelling strategies (geographical indication [GI] vs country-of-origin [COO]) on shaping customer product attitude and purchase likelihood, considering consumers’ ethnocentric and cosmopolitan tendencies. The authors also investigate the boundary conditions and intervening mechanisms to manage the adverse consumer product evaluations and present mitigating procedures which reinstate favourable product evaluations and purchase likelihood. Design/methodology/approach The collected data from these all these studies were analysed using ANOVA and mediation anlaysis. The study tests the proposed hypotheses using three follow-up experimental investigations. Findings The study found that GI (vs COO) labels have a more significant impact on customers’ product evaluation and likelihood of purchase and supported the dispositional effect of ethnocentric and cosmopolitan inclinations. Further, the results indicated that self-product congruence can efficiently regulate consumer dispositions. Also, the results confirmed the significant impact of product identification on influencing consumer attitudes. Practical implications The above-said insights add practical insights, particularly concerning product labelling. Also, the insights on product attitudes and purchase likelihood intricacies in the context of product labelling enable companies to comprehend better the significance of GI labels, COO labels and self-product congruence. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time a study has compared the role of two significant product labelling strategies (GI vs COO) in shaping customer product evaluations, confirmed its boundary conditions and shown how to transform them into helpful customer product outcomes.

Unpacking product design awards: a qualitative inquiry into consumer perceptions and responses

PurposeThis paper aims to explore consumer perceptions of product design awards (PDAs) and their impact on consumer product evaluation and attitude formation about the award-winning product, the award-winning organization and the award-granting organization.Design/methodology/approachBased on the grounded theory approach, an exploratory qualitative study is conducted, using 16 semi-structured in-depth interviews with Turkish consumers through discussions on real-world examples.FindingsResults show that consumers develop emotional responses to PDAs (e.g. interest, curiosity and confusion), hypothesize reasons for products receiving awards and cite rewards as confirmation of their existing judgments about products. PDAs are perceived as extrinsic cues signaling quality and price, and their impact is increased when consumers feel that the award is based on functional feature superiority. Consumer responses to PDAs are also influenced by the perceived expertise of the award-granting organization and beliefs about the award-granting process. Finally, PDAs can lead to positive brand-perception outcomes, influencing consumer perceptions of the product company as resourceful, competent and prominent.Practical implicationsThis study shows that it is critical for companies to inform consumers about the specific features that resulted in a given product receiving a design award, as well as to provide information about the PDA itself.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt to explore consumer perceptions of and reactions to PDAs, with significant implications for both the marketing managers of PDA-winning products and award-granting organizations.

An Examination of the Relationship Between Visualization Media and Consumer Product Evaluation.

Virtual product presentations that rely on static images and text are often insufficient to communicate all the information that is necessary to accurately evaluate a product. Technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR) have enabled more sophisticated representation methods, but certain product characteristics are difficult to assess and may result in perceptual differences when a product is evaluated in different visual media. In this article, we report two case studies in which a group of participants evaluated three designs of two product typologies (i.e., a desktop telephone and a coffee maker) as presented in three different visual media (i.e., photorealistic renderings, AR, and VR for the first case study; and photographs, a non-immersive virtual environment, and AR for the second case study) using eight semantic scales. An inferential statistical method using Aligned Rank Transform (ART) proceedings was applied to determine perceptual differences between groups. Our results show that in both cases product attributes in Jordan's physio-pleasure category are the most affected by the presentation media. The socio-pleasure category was also affected for the case of the coffee makers. The level of immersion afforded by the medium significantly affects product evaluation.

A Study on the Influence of Consumer Cultural Propensity and Product Evaluation on the Purchase Intention of Chinese Products

A Study on the Influence of Consumer Cultural Propensity and Product Evaluation on the Purchase Intention of Chinese Products

Effects of Nutrition Package Claims, Nutrition Facts Panels, And Motivation to Process Nutrition Information on Consumer Product Evaluations Using the WPM Method

It includes a number of significant nutrients that have an impact on health. Look for meals that are higher in the nutrients you want to consume more of and lower in the nutrients you want to consume less of. The label can be used to support your own dietary objectives. Limit your consumption of added sweets, salt, and extra fat. The nutritive information, serving size, and nutrients for a portion of a food product are listed on the Health Facts label. This aids customers in choosing the right amount to eat, maybe the ideal time to eat this item, r the greatest way to balance their daily food intake. What Nutrients Must Appear on Nutritional and Additional Information Labels? Protein, key vitamins, and minerals, as well as whole fat, heavy fat, Trans fat, blood, salt, total sugars, dietary fibre, total sugars, adding sugars, and nutrients must all be listed on the Food Facts label. The Nutrition Information label on the packaging is based on current dietary advice for Americans and scientific research. You may pick items for a clean diet by using the label. All ice creams, both domestically produced and imported, are obliged to have a label. Alternative: “Bambusa tulda, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Daucus carota and Raphanus sativus”. Evaluation Option: Protein, Carbohydrate, Fats, Fibers, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium. “from the result it is seen that Sodium and is got the first rank whereas is the Calcium got is having the lowest rank”. “The value of the dataset for Nutritional Facts in Weighted product method shows that it results in Sodium and top ranking”.

Being unconventional: The impact of unconventional packaging messages on impulsive purchases

AbstractThe visual and textual elements of packaging significantly impact consumer product evaluations. This study examines how unconventional packaging messages—a textual packaging element—influence impulsive product purchases. We also investigate the mediating role of curiosity and the moderating role of emoji (i.e., a visual packaging element). We conduct five studies to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings reveal that unconventional packaging messages are more effective for impulsive products than for planned purchases. Furthermore, unconventional packaging messages increase both healthy and nonhealthy impulsive product purchases. We find that consumer curiosity explains the enhanced impulsive product purchasing when unconventional packaging messages are used. When unconventional packaging messages are employed for impulsive products, the use of emojis increases customer curiosity. The results extend an understanding of unconventional elements in consumer evaluations of products and inform packaging and marketing strategies regarding how to promote impulsive product purchases in competitive markets.

The Role of Anthropomorphism in Consumer Evaluations of Sustainable Products: A Research Note

Identifying ways to encourage consumers to engage in sustainable consumption is a vital research topic. While previous studies have identified several messages or appeals that can improve consumer responses, studies examining these in detail remain scant. There are many psychological barriers to consumers’ involvement in sustainable consumption. Therefore, much more work exploring effective means to promote sustainable consumption is necessary. This study proposes that a sustainable product can enhance consumers’ evaluations of that product. Although prior studies have examined anthropomorphism in sustainable contexts, investigations regarding sustainable products remain limited. This method is considered beneficial because it is not a recommendation or request for consumers to engage in sustainable consumption; thus, it is unlikely to elicit consumer resistance. This study also incorporates perceived personal relevance and package attractiveness as mediators to explain the underlying mechanism of this effect. The results showed that consumers favored an product through more substantial perceived personal relevance to the product and more potent perceived package attractiveness. These findings contribute to the literature on sustainable consumption and anthropomorphism and provide evidence of their relation. In addition to describing the features of sustainable products, marketers should portray sustainable products as more humanized to increase consumer acceptance.

What drives or inhibits consumers' preference to consume quietly?

PurposeSecret consumption refers to consumption of a product in a private situation, with the intent or behavior of hiding the consumption from others. This study contributes to the secret consumption literature by identifying the antecedents of secret consumption along with the explaining mechanism and boundary condition.Design/methodology/approachAn online study with experiment design was conducted to examine the impact of extroversion/introversion, self-presentation and product scarcity on secrete consumption.FindingsThe results show that consumer extraverted disposition and the self-presentation motive negatively influence secret consumption intention and suggest this relationship is explained by the self-presentation need. The findings also revealed that perceived product scarcity attenuated the negative impact of extraversion and self-presentation on secret consumption intention.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings provide interesting insights into advertising and retailing. In recognizing that secret consumption is a prevalent phenomenon in consumer behavior that may improve actual consumer product evaluation and preference, retailers or brand managers may encourage consumers to consume secretly.Originality/valueThis empirical study is a first attempt to explore the antecedents, mediating mechanism and boundary condition of consumer intention to engage in secrete consumption. The findings of the study provide important implication to theoretical development and managerial applications in advertising and retailing.

How do companies' net zero efforts affect consumer product evaluation through reciprocity and trust? A study in Korea

In order to overcome the serious climate crisis, humanity must achieve net zero. In order to achieve net zero, business participation is essential. Companies cannot be compelled to participate unconditionally because companies' participation in net zero incurs additional costs. It is important and necessary to find out whether companies have economic incentives to make a net zero effort. This is because if a company's net zero efforts have an impact on product evaluation, the company will be willing to participate. To this end, the company's net zero efforts were divided into net zero policies, net zero management, and net zero performance, and 527 data were collected to conduct frequency analysis, structural equation model, and confirmatory factor analysis to explore each impact. As a result of the study, it was found that net zero policy, net zero management, and net zero performance all positively affected reciprocity. Net zero policy was found to have a positive effect on trust, while net zero management and net zero performance did not have a positive effect on trust. Both reciprocity and trust were found to positively affect product evaluation. This study, which examines the impact of companies' net zero efforts on product evaluation through reciprocity and trust, has theoretical implications in that it presents empirical grounds that support the definition of reciprocity and the concept of trust in previous studies. In addition, the different results of a company's net zero policy, net zero management, and net zero performance will contribute to the establishment of a net zero strategy that will help the company's sustainable growth.

A Systematic Literature Review of the Relationship between Consumer Ethnocentrism and Product Evaluation

Globalization has added new dimensions to consumers’ decision-making. Consumer Ethnocentrism is among the critical variables affecting consumers’ decisions to purchase foreign products. Consumer Ethnocentrism research has gained momentum in the last few decades, and a copious amount of literature is available on this subject. This article presents an overview of Consumer Ethnocentrism literature and a compressive review of research work on the relationship between “Consumer Ethnocentrism” and “Product Evaluation” with critical insights from previous literature findings. There is a fractured opinion on the subject of whether Consumer Ethnocentrism leads to a lower quality evaluation of foreign products or whether consumer preference for the domestic product is purely out of a feeling that it is unfair to buy a foreign product. We also provided future research directions using TMC (Theory, Methodology, and Context) framework in line with earlier studies.

Effects of Box Shape and Diverse Components of Large-Sized Products on Consumers’ Product Evaluations in Logistic Business

Purpose – With the recent spread of COVID-19, U.S. consumers' consumption pattern is changing towards purchasing large-capacity products, as they stay at home longer. Thus, the current research investigates the effects of box shape and component diversity for large-sized products on product evaluation in logistic business. Moreover, this research examines that information-processing fluency mediates the moderating effects of box shape and product components on target evaluations to confirm psychological mechanism for generating this effect. Design/methodology – In order to examine the hypotheses, the current research conducts two online experiments. The 184 participants (Study 1), and 205 participants (Study 2) of U.S. nationality were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. This research analyzes the data by using SPSS 25 and PROCESS macro 4.0. Findings – Study 1 demonstrates that when the height of a box is greater than its width, products with single components promote positive target evaluations, while when the width of box is greater than its height, products with a variety of components lead to positive target evaluations. Study 2 shows that the same results are replicated in other product categories and with different box shape ratios. Moreover, Study 2 also finds that the ease of information processing mediates the interaction effects of box shape and component diversity on U.S. consumers’ target evaluations. Originality/value – The current research has originality in that it investigates the effect of box shape and product composition diversity on U.S. consumer product evaluation from the perspective of information-processing theory Moreover, this research has practical implications for global traders who prepare for entering the U.S. market.

A taste of things to come: Effect of temporal order of information and product experience on evaluation of healthy and sustainable plant-based products

Current patterns of meat consumption are considered unsustainable. Plant-based products are presented as a solution. However, while some plant-based products thrive, others do not make the cut due to the information “framing” effect issues related to the way information is presented to the consumers. Information on the nutrition and health properties of food products are usually made available at the point of purchase, but their effect on consumer product evaluation and subsequent purchase intent can also occur later, during or after consumption. This research demonstrates that the effect of nutrition information on product evaluation and purchase intention depends on when such information is made available–before first tasting or after first tasting–and that the information interacts with the taste experience in its effect on product evaluation and subsequent purchase intent. Using three plant-based products as an example, we conducted a cross-cultural experimental sensory evaluation with temporal order of information as the main between-subject experimental condition (informed before taste vs. informed after taste vs. control condition), and product experience phase (expectation vs. experience vs. post-experience phase) and information content as within-subject conditions. Information content had two levels: lower vs. higher share of oat protein in the product (i.e., source of protein vs. high in protein). The results indicate that information generally increases consumers’ purchase intentions with information before tasting having a higher weight when compared to the condition when information was presented after tasting. Presenting the information before tasting also mitigates a drop in the evaluation of taste after tasting, observed in the two other conditions. Further, taste acts as a healthiness cue, but the direction of the inference depends on the availability of health-related information: tasting in the informed condition increased the healthiness perception, whereas tasting in the uninformed condition had the opposite effect. Giving the information before the first tasting also increased the weight of healthiness as compared to taste in the formation of purchase intentions. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the effect of temporal order of information and product tasting have on the consumers’ product evaluations of plant-based products from theoretical and managerial perspectives.

How Does the Horizontal Position of Pictures and Text Affect Product Evaluation? Based on Left and Right Position Effect.

Due to the untouchability of online shopping environment, image and text description, as two main ways of product information display, are important indicators for consumers to evaluate products. However, few studies have discussed the synergistic effects of image and text information on consumers. In the present study, in conjunction with the left-right position effect, we examine the expectation that horizontal placement of visual stimuli in different directions has a strong influence on consumers’ product evaluation preferences. This implicit assumption is based on consumers’ unconscious psychological need for closure when processing information. The authors conducted three studies to investigate the relative effects of image information and text statements at different locations in online shopping pages on consumer product evaluations. The results show that: (1) when the evaluation object is a search product, compared with the display mode of left text-right image, the display mode of left image-right text plays a more significant role in consumer product evaluation. The results of experiential products were just the opposite. The way of presenting the text declaration on the left and image on the right has a stronger impact on consumers’ evaluation preference for experiential products (Study 1 and Study 3). (2) The difference in consumers’ evaluation mode of different presentation sequences based on product attributes is driven by their visual information processing fluency (Study 2). These preferences are robust, and it is worth noting that only the order of graphic presentation has no significant influence on consumer product evaluation preference.

Visual complexity of eco-labels and product evaluations in online setting: Is simple always better?

Noticeable and comprehensible eco-labels are needed to promote sustainable products. So far, researchers have mostly studied consumers' evaluations of eco-labels, without analyzing eco-label's visual complexity. Through two experimental studies this paper proposes that consumers' evaluations of sustainable products increase when zoom-in feature provided in online stores, and they are labelled through eco-labels that have high design and low feature complexity due to increased perceptual fluency. The findings demonstrate that while design complexity increases consumer product evaluations due to increased perceptual fluency, feature complexity increases - instead of decreases – consumers' evaluations due to conceptual – and not perceptual – fluency. Consequently, it is advised to design and adapt eco-labels easy-to-understand, visually eye-catching and highly visible (i.e., in large size) to enhance ease of processing and increase product evaluations.

Does “male beauty” really work: The impact of male endorsements on female consumers’ evaluation of female-gender-imaged product

<p id="p00005">Nowadays, using male spokesperson to endorse female-gender-imaged product has become an important advertising strategy and has penetrated into many female-gender-imaged products, especially thanks to celebrity influence. Does it really work? While previous research only combined with a certain degree of theory to explain the cross-gender endorsement phenomenon, this paper aims to explore the relationship between the gender of female-gender-imaged product spokesperson and female consumer's product evaluation through a quantitative approach. Specifically, we proposed that when male spokesperson endorses female-gender-imaged product, female consumers would significantly downgrade their evaluation of the products compared to female spokesperson, which is mediated by a sense of gender-identity threat. In addition, when the participants are manipulated to increase gender affirmation, the main effect would be strengthened. <break/>Study 1 used a single factor (gender of female-gender-imaged product spokesperson: male vs. female) between-subjects design. 145 female college students were invited to participate in this study. Participants were asked to imagine a billboard advertising a lipstick endorsed by male star or female star, and then evaluated this lipstick by a scale. We examined the main effect through this scenario that using male spokesperson to endorse female-gender-imaged product would decrease female consumers’ product evaluation. <break/>Study 2A used a similar between-subjects design. 119 female participants were recruited to imagine a billboard of obstetrics and gynecology hospital endorsed by male star or female star, and then evaluated this obstetrics and gynecology hospital as well as sense of gender-identity threat by scales. Study 2B invited 136 female college students to replicate the results of Study 2A, ruling out the alternative explanations of shyness and shame. Participants were asked to look at an underwear advertisement poster that used endorsement by a real celebrity. We repeated the results of Study 1 and confirmed the mediating effect of a sense of gender-identity threat with bootstrap test to clarify the underlying mechanism. <break/>Study 3 used a 2 (gender of female-gender-imaged product spokesperson: male vs. female) × 2 (gender affirmation: with vs. without) between-subjects design. 250 female Mturk workers participated in this study. In the gender affirmation condition, participants were asked to write about important qualities and values of women. In the control condition, participants were asked to list 20 everyday items that came to mind. Next, participants were told that they were browsing an online shopping platform and intended to buy underwear. They would see the underwear picture of a famous brand endorsed by a popular female star (vs. a popular male star) and then fill out the same product evaluation scale as above. We examined the interaction between gender of female-gender-imaged product spokesperson and gender affirmation. Specifically, when the female-gender-imaged product uses male endorsement, the product evaluation of the gender affirmation condition is lower than that of the control condition. <break/>Apart from the above, results from these studies were summarized and showed that both exclusivity and privacy of female-gender-imaged product have significant interaction effects on the relationship between spokesperson gender and product evaluation. <break/>In summary, this paper combines the theory of self-concept and identity consciousness to provide evidences for a mechanism between cross-gender endorsement and female consumer's product evaluation mediated by a sense of gender-identity threat, and the moderating effect of gender affirmation, expanding the downstream results of product gender attribute research and contributing to the practice of advertising field.

Effect of front-of-package labels on consumer product evaluation and preferences

Front-of-Package (FOP) labels highlight important nutrients and help consumers make informed decisions about food purchases. In this study, we investigated consumer comprehension, opinion, and preference associated with two different formats of FOP labels and compared consumer shopping behavior and general trends related to nutrition labeling. Consumer eye-tracking was used for measuring perceived understanding of nutritional information objectively. Results revealed that a color-coded FOP label would garner more attention than a black and white FOP label. Subjects found color-coded FOP labels more straightforward than black and white labels. Participants used the information provided on the FOP for shopping goals. Still, FOPs did not affect objective consumer attention to labels, and labeling schemes did not significantly affect participants' decisions. Participating subjects did use FOP labels instead of the nutrition facts panels. Still, FOP groups scored lower on a nutrition literacy quiz, indicating that their perceived and actual understanding of nutritional information differed. Our findings suggest that subjects pay attention to FOP labels but do not make decisions.