Utilitarian Products Research Articles

User design as a double-edged sword: exploring perceived self-improvement and uncertainty in purchasing utilitarian products

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the effects of design sources (user design vs. company design) on customers’ perceived value (perceived self-improvement and perceived uncertainty) and consequently purchase intention, as well as the moderating effect of brand strength in the context of purchasing utilitarian products.Design/methodology/approachTwo studies were conducted. Study 1 used a laboratory experiment (n = 160) to test the effects of design sources on perceived self-improvement, perceived uncertainty and purchase intention. Study 2 used an online experiment (n = 312) to examine the moderating effect of brand strength.FindingsThe results showed that user design is a double-edged sword for companies. Compared with company design, user design is associated with stronger self-improvement and uncertainty as perceived by customers. Perceived self-improvement is positively related to purchase intention, while perceived uncertainty undermines purchase intention. Moreover, for weak brands, perceived self-improvement is significantly stronger in user design than company design, while for strong brands, this relationship is not significant.Originality/valueThis paper draws on mental accounting theory to study the perceived benefits and risks of user design of utilitarian products, and highlights the double-edged effects of user design on customers’ perceived value and purchase decision. The findings provide more rounded insights on user design of utilitarian products, complementing the one-sided view of customers’ positive perceives of user design in unclassified product categories.

The healing effect of cute elements

AbstractConsumers around the world use retail therapy to alleviate negative emotions. In response, marketers have incorporated cute elements into product design, capitalizing on the demand for products that provide healing effects. Grounded on attention restoration theory, this study explores how baby and whimsical cuteness generate feelings of healing. It also clarifies the moderating effect of product type and examines whether feelings of healing affect consumer subjective well‐being, product attitudes, and purchase intentions. The results indicate that products with cute elements generate stronger feelings of healing. Baby cuteness is relatively more effective than whimsical cuteness. Cuteness arouses feelings of healing through the mechanisms of fascination and extent. Incorporating cute elements with utilitarian (vs. hedonic) products enhances these healing effects. Feelings of healing mediate the cuteness effect on well‐being and attitudinal responses. These findings are valuable to marketing theory and practice and consumer well‐being.

So fun! How fun brand names affect forgiveness of hedonic and utilitarian products

Fun brand names created through the use of fun fonts, symbols, unique spelling, and linguistic creativeness are ubiquitous in the marketplace. In this research, we examine when and how fun brand names can influence consumers’ willingness to forgive. Specifically, we argue that a fun brand name can buffer against the negative consequences of brand transgression, but only when the product is utilitarian. Relying on an inconsistency-based explanation, we propose that a fun brand name for a utilitarian (vs. hedonic) product induces consumer perceived inconsistency, which activates a concrete mindset, lowers negative emotions, resulting in positive consequences namely, a greater willingness to forgive in the event of a brand transgression. Across one text analysis study and three randomized experiments, we provide evidence for the inconsistency-based account, while also testing alternative explanations. Finally, we provide insights into the effect of fun brand names with utilitarian products and offer implications for marketing strategy and public policy.

Do consumers always prefer coupons with a large discount? A meta-analysis

PurposeThe aim of this research is to quantitatively synthesize empirical findings of the effect of discount level on consumer response to the coupon.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used the meta-analysis method to synthesize coupons' discount level effects on consumer response. Meta-regression was used to examine the moderating factors that affect the relationship between discount level and consumer response.FindingsThe average effect size of the discount level is 0.331, indicating that higher discount levels lead to higher consumer responses. The effect of discount level on consumer response to the coupon is stronger when the discount is displayed in proportion format (vs amount format), when consumers are distant (vs near) to the coupon-issuing stores, and when consumers have not opted-in to receive promotional information. The discount level effect is weaker for coupons that can be redeemed online (vs offline only), for hedonic products (vs utilitarian products) and for products of real brands.Originality/valueFrom information processing and cost–benefit trade-off perspectives, this research proposes a comprehensive research framework that synthesizes a variety of contextual factors. It identifies several contextual factors that may reconcile several inconsistent findings in the existing literature. It also addresses how the new-technology related factors affect coupon redemption under different discount levels.

Study on the effect of text direction and temporal focus on advertising persuasiveness

AbstractGlobal brands are benefiting from the rapidly growing demand in China. Text displayed both vertically and horizontally is common in Chinese advertisements. The skillful use of text direction can effectively improve advertising persuasiveness. Using two studies, we find that the descriptions of an advertisement that are displayed vertically (vs. horizontally) result in enhanced advertising persuasiveness among consumers who focus on the past. In contrast, the reverse holds for consumers who focus on the future. Furthermore, the results show that consumers' sense of “feeling right” mediates the interaction effect. In addition, we demonstrate how product category plays a vital role in the three‐way interaction effects between product category, temporal focus, and text direction on “feeling right.” Compared with utilitarian products, vertical descriptions of hedonic products enhance consumers' sense of “feeling right” when they are in the past‐focus condition. Our findings enrich advertising theory and practice. Meanwhile, we also elucidate the effects of text direction on Chinese advertising.

The effect of time and money concepts on consumers’ purchase decision and its psychological mechanism

<p id="p00005">Time and money are two important resources that affect consumer decision-making differently. Based on the dual-process theory, this paper discusses the effect of time and money concepts on consumers' purchase decisions and its psychological mechanism through reviewing previous literature. <p id="p00005">Specifically, the effect of time and money would be differential in consumers’ the purchase decision process such as pre-purchase stage, purchasing stage, and post purchase stage. For pre-purchase decisions stage, the concept of time and money will affect consumers' product search and product evaluation strategy. When consumers search for products, currency of search (time or money) will moderate the effect of magnitude of search costs on people’s willingness to search. When the currency is money, lower (vs. higher) search costs will result in higher willingness to search. When the currency is time, this effect of search costs on willingness to search will be relatively weaker. As for consumer’s product evaluation, they will adopt an alternative-based evaluation strategy to evaluate product information after they are activated time concept and adopt an attribute-based evaluation strategy to evaluate product information after they are activated money concept. For purchasing decision stage, the impacts of priming time and money on product selection are different. Consumers will make different choices between virtue and vice products, hedonic and utilitarian products, experiential purchases and material purchases, and anthropomorphized products when they are activated time or money concepts. That is, if the time concept is activated, consumers tend to choose a virtue product, hedonic product, experiential purchases and prefer anthropomorphic products with no prominent functional purpose. If money is activated, consumers tend to choose vice products, utilitarian products, material purchases and prefer the anthropomorphic products with prominent functional purpose. For post-purchase decision stage, the concepts of time and money also have different effects on consumers' product attitude and the consistency of product preferences. Time priming leads to a more positive attitude toward products and a higher degree of consistency in preferences than money priming. However, for luxury goods, free goods and high materialists, money priming has a better effect than time priming. <p id="p00005">From the perspective of the dual-process theory, the psychological mechanism due to different cognitive processing modes and mindsets that are primed by time and money. Concretely, because of the value of time are more ambiguous, difficult to calculate, difficult to explain, irreplaceable and intangible than money, consumers are more dependent on the experience system to process time and product information heuristically, holistically and affectively and fall into emotional maximization mindset. Because the value of money is more specific, easy to analyze, replaceable and tangible than time, consumers are more dependent on the rational system to process money and product information analytically and fall into value maximization mindset. As a result, due to the difference of time and money concepts, different processing methods and thinking patterns further lead to consumers make different purchase decisions in three aspects: pre-purchase decision (product search and product evaluation strategy), purchasing decision (product selection) and post-purchase decision (product attitude and the consistency of product preferences). <p id="p00005">Future research should further explore the following issues: (1) Elaborating the different effects of priming time and money on purchase decisions. (2) Considering the impact from the tradeoff between time and money on purchase decisions. (3) Further exploring the different influences of priming time and money on the pre-purchase decision. (4) Exploring the neural mechanisms underlying the different effects of time and money on purchase decisions.

Influence of human versus AI recommenders: The roles of product type and cognitive processes

Previous research suggests that consumers would listen more to product recommendations from other consumers (human recommenders) than from systems based on artificial intelligence (AI recommenders). We hypothesize that this might depend on the type of product being recommended, and propose an underlying process driving this effect. Three experiments show that, for hedonic products (but not for utilitarian products), human recommenders are more effective than AI recommenders in influencing consumer reactions toward the recommended product. This effect occurs because, when compared to AI recommenders, human recommenders elicit stronger mentalizing responses in consumers. This, in turn, helps consumers self-reference the product to their own needs. However, humanizing AI recommenders increases mentalizing and self-referencing responses, thus increasing the effectiveness of this type of recommenders for hedonic products. Together, these findings provide insight into when and why consumers might rely more on product recommendations from humans as compared to AI recommenders.

Omnichannel promotions and their effect on customer satisfaction

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether customer satisfaction varies when presented with different types of omnichannel promotions (shopping goal-congruent vs shopping goal-incongruent and monetary vs non-monetary promotions) and if the effect on satisfaction is mediated by service excellence. In addition, this paper examines whether consumers respond differently to these promotions when shopping for utilitarian or hedonic products or when they have an inherent utilitarian or hedonic shopping motivation. Design/methodology/approach Two online shopping scenario experiments are conducted. Study 1 (n = 1,034) differentiates effects of omnichannel promotions between hedonic and utilitarian product categories. Study 2 (n = 345) contrasts hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivation in the same product category. Findings The findings in this paper demonstrate positive effects from both presenting a shopping goal congruent and a monetary promotion in an omnichannel setting on customer satisfaction. The positive effects are explained by service excellence and are demonstrated to be attenuated in the hedonic product category and for consumers with a hedonic shopping motivation. Research limitations/implications The effect of omnichannel promotions was demonstrated using a scenario-based experimental approach, future research should use field experiments. Practical implications The findings in this paper demonstrate practical implications for a retailer who wishes to optimize its omnichannel promotion strategy across channels and touchpoints. Originality/value To date there is little directions for retailers on how to optimize their omnichannel promotion strategy. This paper contributes to research and practice by demonstrating that shopping goal-congruent promotions (vs in-congruent) and monetary promotions (vs non-monetary) increase customer satisfaction more in an omnichannel context. The effects are enhanced for utilitarian (vs hedonic) products/shopping motivation.

Reward Design for Customer Referral Programs: Reward-Product Congruence Effect and Gender Difference.

Referral reward design is the core component of customer referral programs, which are often applied to recruit new customers. This research investigates the effectiveness of utilitarian vs. hedonic rewards in terms of referral generation. Through one field study and two laboratory studies, we demonstrate a reward–product congruency effect; that is, utilitarian rewards, compared with hedonic rewards, yield a higher referral likelihood for utilitarian products, while the opposite holds true for hedonic products. However, such a congruency effect would be crippled by gender segmentation. When males make referral decisions toward hedonic products, the effectiveness of utilitarian rewards is at least equal to that of hedonic rewards. When females make referral decisions toward utilitarian products, there is no difference in effectiveness between utilitarian and hedonic rewards. These findings provide novel insights into referral reward design.

The Economic Influence on Consumers Buying Behavior in Islamic Countries: Evidence from the COVID-19 Economic Crisis

Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic has ushered in a new age in the world. We are still grappling with the implications in various areas of our everyday lives. The impulsive buying habits of consumers, the supply chain, and the whole industry are not exceptions. Consumers and supply chains were both unprepared during the early stages of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The procurement of utilitarian products was referred to as panic buying. The study examined using exploratory studies on several individuals in the eight selected Islamic countries who have been panic buying in coronavirus-affected areas and have faced regional constraints. The data apply on exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in eight selected Islamic countries, three hundred sample finally selected, and a good number of volunteers supported in this study. The results have shown that a drastic financial effect on the economy where purchasing power and remittance inflow declined, inflation goes up and precaution for lockdown, whereas impulsive buying goods tendency increased due to misinformation, and panic buying immensely impact in the economy. The decision-making process has shifted, preventing financial burdening, rising saving patterns, and unwelcoming unhealthy consumption. Moreover, visible psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. These studies concluded with a policy recommendation providing the results.

How do utilitarian versus hedonic products influence choice preferences: Mediating effect of social comparison

AbstractThe present research explores how product type influences the trade‐off between relative and absolute best choice. We measure consumers' choice preferences and willingness to pay in five studies by manipulating different utilitarian versus hedonic products or different utilitarian versus hedonic goals of the same product. The results demonstrate that consumers prefer the absolute best choice for hedonic products and the relative best choice for utilitarian products (Studies 1a and 1b). When choosing a hedonic product, consumers are willing to pay significantly more for absolute than relative best choice. However, when choosing a utilitarian product, consumers are willing to pay more for the relative than absolute best choice, but the differences are not significant (Studies 2 and 3). Social comparison mediates the relationship between product type and choice preference. Specifically, compared to hedonic products, social comparison increases the relative best choice preference of utilitarian products (Study 4). Moreover, rivals moderate the effect of product type on choice preference (Study 5). The theoretical implication includes demonstrating the comparative advantage of product type on choice preference and interpreting the underlying mechanisms using social comparison. The findings also have important practical implications for utilitarian and hedonic consumption.

Retail service innovations and their impact on retailer shareholder value: evidence from an event study

To survive in the competitive retail landscape, retailers launch service innovations designed to grant additional value to consumers. This study investigates whether and in which circumstances retail service innovations create shareholder value, using stock returns to capture investors’ point of view. An event study is used to analyze a broad, varied set of 350 service innovation announcements by publicly listed retailers. The study shows that the customer value benefit(s) aimed for by the retail service innovation (i.e., its level of convenience and engagement) has an impact on shareholder value. Moreover, this impact is contingent upon the stage of the consumer purchase process that the innovation targets, and upon the hedonic or utilitarian nature of the products offered by the retailer that initiates the innovation. The impact on retailer shareholder value is more positive for service innovations high on convenience that speed up and simplify the shopping process, when implemented at the purchase stage or by retailers offering utilitarian products. Service innovations high on engagement that focus more on non-transactional initiatives instead fare well in the post-purchase stage.

When Cause‐Marketing Backfires: Differential Effects of One‐for‐One Promotions on Hedonic and Utilitarian Products

A remarkable cause‐marketing (CM) strategy has emerged in the marketplace: businesses promise to donate an identical product for each product sold (i.e., a “one‐for‐one” promotion). Yet despite prosocial tendencies, consumers hesitate when uncertain about others' preferences, which poses the question of whether one‐for‐one promotions are perceived to meet recipients' preferences. Five experiments (one field experiment and four laboratory experiments) reveal that the efficacy of in‐kind, one‐for‐one promotions varies as a function of product type. Specifically, one‐for‐one promotions enhance purchase intentions for utilitarian products but undermine purchase intentions for hedonic products. Moreover, this difference is due to certainty regarding recipients' utilitarian preferences and uncertainty regarding recipients' hedonic preferences. Importantly, hedonic products' backfiring effects are attenuated when recipients' preferences are perceived as homogeneous or the recipient is familiar to the donor. Collectively, these findings emphasize the importance of consumer inferences regarding recipients' preferences in determining the efficacy of CM promotions that leverage in‐kind benefits while elucidating the role of product type in the effectiveness of these promotions.

The Impact of Mobile App Adoption on Cross-buying: The Moderating Roles of Product Category Characteristics and Adoption Timing

With more and more companies introducing mobile apps and consumers using them during the purchase journey, it is increasingly important to understand the consequences of app adoption on behavioral outcomes. This paper investigates the impact of app adoption on the number of additional products purchased by customers (i.e., cross-buying) and how this effect varies across different product categories and different customers. We focus on two key product category characteristics (utilitarian vs. hedonic nature and perceived risk) and on adopters who vary in their adoption timings (early vs. late adopters). Using data from an online retailer and a combination of propensity score weighting with difference-in-differences and Heckman correction estimation techniques, the results show that app adoption has a positive effect on cross-buying overall, but the effect varies greatly across products and consumers. App adoption promotes additional product purchases for hedonic products but leads to less cross-buying for utilitarian products. In addition, early adopters purchase a higher number of additional product categories than late adopters, with this difference decreasing over time and for new consumers compared to existing customers. These results offer novel insights into the behavioral consequences of app adoption and provide managers with useful recommendations for improving the effectiveness of their mobile app investments.

Promotional Framing Affects Repurchase Intention: Roles of Consumer Gender and Product Nature

Prior studies have revealed that promotional framing affects repurchase intention, but the roles of consumer gender and product nature are unknown. With the quantitative approach, we randomly assigned participants to respond to four versions of surveys and found a significant interaction between gender, product nature and framing. Females’ repurchase intention for utilitarian products under gift framing was significantly higher than under bundle framing; repurchase intention for hedonic products under gift framing, however, was significantly lower than under bundle framing. No framing effect was observed for males. The current study sheds light on how to use framing to enhance post-promotion sales.

How online review richness impacts sales: An attribute substitution perspective

AbstractRicher forms of online reviews such as videos or follow‐on reviews convey ‘additional information and can attract consumers’ attention. However, prior studies focused mostly on the relationship between aggregated online reviews and sales. This paper investigates the impact of online review richness (i.e., reviews containing videos or follow‐on reviews) on sales. Leveraging attribute substitution theory, we conjecture that online review richness can provide heuristic cues in the online shopping environment to help consumers make better purchase decisions. Using data from JD.com, we found that reviews containing either videos or follow‐on reviews positively affect sales. In addition, different product types can also serve as heuristic cues to replace target cues, which can further affect how different forms of online review richness affect sales. We found that the impact of online review richness on sales is stronger for utilitarian products than for hedonic products, and stronger for negatively commented products than for positively commented products. Moreover, we conducted two online experiments and confirmed that the causal relationship is from online review richness to sales. The research findings offer practical implications for online retailers and constitute one of the first steps toward a better understanding of the relationship between online review richness and sales.

Out-of-stock justifications and consumers’ behavioral outcomes– exploring the role of product type and sales level information in out-of-stock situations

The present study extends prior research on stockouts by examining how product-related attributes interact with OOS justifications to influence consumer responses to stockouts. Drawing from Out-of-stock (OOS) literature, this study investigates how perceived popularity, perceived uniqueness, negative affect, and behavioral outcomes are influenced by out-of-stock justifications, product type, and sales level. Two scenario-based experiments and two field studies are conducted in which the cause of the stockout, product type, and sales level are manipulated at different levels. The results of the studies provide the following primary insights- 1) Consumers infer popularity of the product when the product is OOS due to high demand or when the sales level is high 2) Consumers infer uniqueness of the product when the product is OOS due to short supply but not when sales level is low 3) As the perceived popularity of utilitarian products or the perceived uniqueness of hedonic products increases, consumers' propensity to switch stores to purchase the OOS products increases 4) Consumers’ intention to spread negative word of mouth decreases when the cause of OOS or a high sales level is specified. Retailers can influence behavioral outcomes by specifying the cause of stockout tailored according to the type of product, or by providing sales level information.

Abstract or concrete? The influence of image type on consumer attitudes

AbstractPictures have been used for a wide range of marketing purposes, but few studies have focused on the specific uses of abstract versus concrete images in marketing field. This study explores the impact of image type on consumer attitudes based on the conception of imagery elaboration. We find that the interaction between product category and image type has a significant effect on consumer attitudes. Specifically, for hedonic product, abstract image is more likely to motivate consumers to form a positive attitude than concrete image, whereas for utilitarian product, concrete image is more effective. We also show the mediating role of imagery elaboration. The interaction of product category and image type has a significant effect on imagery elaboration: in the case of hedonic product, product with abstract image was found to be better for evoking imagery elaboration, whereas in the case of utilitarian product, adding a concrete image to the product was more successful at generating imagery elaboration. Furthermore, imagery elaboration has a significant effect on consumer attitudes. This study offers specific suggestions that companies can incorporate into product design and marketing.

Attribute accessibility, normative influence, and the effect of classical and country music on willingness to pay for social identity and utilitarian products

Previous studies indicate that background classical music is associated with customers in retail and leisure premises being prepared to pay more for various products and services. This online experiment tests whether these effects are due to music increasing the salience of valued product attributes (attribute accessibility hypothesis) or to a demand characteristic wherein music implies a norm to purchase expensive items (normative behavior hypothesis). A 3 (type of music—classical, country, no music, between subjects) × 2 (type of product—social identity or utilitarian, within subjects) × 2 (high vs. low incentive for accuracy, between subjects) mixed design was used in which participants stated the specific amount they would be prepared to pay for 30 products using free-choice format. Results showed a Music × Type of Product interaction, such that preparedness to spend was higher in the classical music condition but only in the case of social identity products. This is more consistent with the attribute accessibility hypothesis than the normative behavior hypothesis, and various commercial and practical consequences of these findings are discussed.

Seeing is Believing

Images are frequently used in online reviews, yet little research explores the effects that images have on online consumer behavior. This two-study investigation examines the effects of images in electronic word of mouth (eWOM) for both hedonic and utilitarian products. Results show that images affect the relationship between review text and purchase intention as well as trust for both product categories. However, images were shown to be more effective for hedonic than utilitarian products. Interestingly, it was found that congruence between the image and text is not a significant predictor of trust or purchase intention in some conditions (i.e., the images may not have to perfectly reflect the text to facilitate these outcomes for utilitarian products).