Journal of Consumer Research
Current Issue Highlights
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Distinctively Different: Exposure to Multiple Brands in Low-Elaboration Settings Linyun W. Yang
Keisha M. Cutright
Tanya L. Chartrand
Gavan J. Fitzsimons
Consumers see many brands during the course of a day but often pay very little attention to how such exposures will influence their subsequent decisions. This research examines how being exposed to multiple brands at once affects consumer reactions to these brands, particularly when little effort is exerted in processing this information. Focusing on the role of brand personalities, the authors argue that when a focal brand is seen with a brand that has a dissimilar personality, it will seem more distinctive and thus garner more positive consumer reactions than if it is seen with a brand that has a similar personality. The first two experiments provide support for the positive impact of dissimilar brand personalities under low-elaboration settings. The last two experiments examine the process that leads to stronger preferences for the focal brand and suggest that enhanced distinctiveness benefits the focal brand by differentiating it from similar competitors.
Volume 40, Number 5, February 2014
DOI: 10.1086/673522
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The "Visual Preference Heuristic": The Influence of Visual versus Verbal Depiction on Assortment Processing, Perceived Variety, and Choice Overload Claudia Townsend
Barbara E. Kahn
The "visual preference heuristic" suggests that consumers prefer visual to verbal depiction of information in a product assortment. Images produce greater perceptions of variety than text, which is appealing in assortment selection, but can result in choice complexity and overload when choice sets are large and preferences are unknown, suggesting a moderator for Iyengar and Lepper's results. Eye-tracking results reveal that the natural gestalt processing of individual visual stimuli, as compared to the piecemeal processing of individual textual stimuli, affects the processing of the assortment as a whole with visual (compared to verbal) presentation facilitating a faster, though more haphazard, scanning of the assortment. While the less systematic processing that results from visual presentation feels easier, it is not ideal for larger assortments resulting in higher complexity ratings and choice overload than with text depiction. Like many heuristics, preference for visual depiction may be overapplied. Volume 40, Number 5, February 2014
DOI: 10.1086/673521
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A Lot of Work or a Work of Art: How the Structure of a Customized Assembly Task Determines the Utility Derived from Assembly Effort
Eva C. Buechel
Chris Janiszewski
Customized assembly occurs when a consumer makes customization decisions and participates in the construction or modification of a product. While customization increases satisfaction with the end-product, less is known about the utility derived from the assembly effort. The structure of the customized assembly task determines whether consumers derive negative or positive utility from the assembly effort. When customization decisions and assembly processes are segregated, consumers find the assembly process disagreeable. Consequently, more assembly effort leads to a lesser appreciation for the assembly experience. When customization decisions and assembly processes are integrated, consumers become creatively engaged in the assembly process. Consequently, more assembly effort leads to a greater appreciation for the assembly experience. In each case, the assembly experience influences the value of the materials that afforded the experience (the to-be-assembled product). The results have implications for repeat purchasing in product categories that allow for coproduction.
Volume 40, Number 5, February 2014
DOI: 10.1086/673846
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How Price Promotions Influence Postpurchase Consumption Experience over Time Leonard Lee
Claire I. Tsai
The current research examines how price promotions influence postpurchase hedonic consumption experience. On the one hand, getting a good deal can elevate moods and dampen the "pain of payment," thus enhancing consumption enjoyment. On the other hand, discounts also reduce sunk-cost considerations and the need to recover one's spending. As a result, price promotions can lower attention during consumption, which in turn diminishes consumption enjoyment. The time delay between payment and consumption plays an important role in determining the relative strength of these competing effects. When consumption occurs immediately after payment, discounts make consumption more enjoyable; however, this pattern reverses when consumption is delayed. The experiments provide support for the roles of feelings and attention, respectively, in accounting for these effects while ruling out several alternative explanations, including perceived quality, absolute paid price, and a direct sunk-cost account.
Volume 40, Number 5, February 2014
DOI: 10.1086/673441
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