Brands and People

Consumers react strongly to their product choices being copied. They really dislike it when the copycat is someone similar to them, says new research. "Have you ever gone to a party only to learn upon arrival that another guest is wearing the same dress or shirt as you?" ask researchers Katherine White (University of British Columbia) and Jennifer J Argo (University of Alberta). The researchers looked at what happens when someone else copies a consumer's product choice. Although past research...

Previous studies have shown that customer satisfaction plays a key role in the health and future success of any company. When customers are satisfied, they keep coming back to the same store and invite their friends to do the same. Now, a new study from the University of Missouri has found that CEOs who pay attention to employees' job satisfaction are able to boost both customer satisfaction and "repurchase intentions," or the number of customers that intend to purchase products from the store....

People who read vivid print advertisements for fictitious products actually come to believe they've tried those products. "Exposing consumers to imagery-evoking advertising increases the likelihood that a consumer mistakenly believes he/she has experienced the advertised product, and subsequently produces attitudes that are as strong as attitudes based on genuine product experience," say researchers Priyali Rajagopal (Southern Methodist University) and Nicole Montgomery (College of William and...

Innovative ads can help creative consumers break away from their existing thought patterns, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. These creative stimuli can affect the way consumers process information about different products. "Creative marketing stimuli are pervasive in the marketplace as marketers and advertisers scramble to break through the clutter to attract consumers' attention and win their approval," write authors Xiaojing Yang (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)...

People who read vivid print advertisements for fictitious products actually come to believe they've tried those products, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Exposing consumers to imagery-evoking advertising increases the likelihood that a consumer mistakenly believes he/she has experienced the advertised product, and subsequently produces attitudes that are as strong as attitudes based on genuine product experience," write authors Priyali Rajagopal (Southern Methodist...

Every time consumers spend money on a purchase, they are giving up other consumption down the road. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research looks at the factors that lead consumers to consider these "opportunity costs." "Rather than viewing a decision as 'Do I buy or do I not buy?' consumers feeling constrained view the decision as 'Do I buy or do I use my money on something else instead?'" writes author Stephen Spiller (UCLA). Feeling constrained is one major factor that leads consumers...

Consumers who set conservative goals have a harder time achieving satisfaction than those who set ambitious goals. When cautious consumers meet their goals, they tend to raise the bar and compare themselves to the highest possible standards. Researchers Cecile K Cho (University of California, Riverside) and Venkataramani Johar (Columbia University) compared people who set conservative goals with people who set ambitious goals. They focused on situations in which goals were achieved, and measured...

Happy people are more likely to eat candy bars, whereas hopeful people choose fruit, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. That's because when people feel hope, they're thinking about the future. "Most of us are aware that we often fall victim to emotional eating, but how is it that we might choose unhealthy or healthy snacks when we're feeling good?" write authors Karen Page Winterich (Pennsylvania State University) and Kelly L Haws (Texas A&M University). Because...

US consumers are increasingly interested in "fast fashion" — more frequent replacement of inexpensive clothes that become obsolete several weeks after they're purchased. And the US apparel industry has responded in kind with its product lines. But according to a new study that Elena Karpova (left), an ISU assistant professor apparel, educational studies and hospitality management (AESHM), collaborated on with ISU graduate student Juyoung (Jill) Lee, the US industry's fast fashion focus has...

Someone is more likely to predict the quality of a product by its price if someone else is buying it. But when consumers buy products themselves, they are more likely to judge quality by a product's attributes. Researchers found that the way people assess quality based on price or attributes has to do with distance—both temporal and psychological. "Consider the following scenario: you observe that a friend has bought a well-designed attractive handbag for a surprisingly low price. What inference...