Online product displays can shape your buying behavior

Date:
August 20, 2021
Source:
University of California - San Diego
Summary:
One of the biggest marketing trends in the online shopping industry
is personalization through curated product recommendations;
however, it can change whether people buy a product they had been
considering, according to new research.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
One of the biggest marketing trends in the online shopping industry
is personalization through curated product recommendations; however,
it can change whether people buy a product they had been considering,
according to new University of California San Diego research.


==========================================================================
The study by Uma R. Karmarkar, assistant professor at the UC San Diego
Rady School of Management and School of Global Policy and Strategy, finds
that display items that come from the same category as the target product,
such as a board game matched with other board games, enhance the chances
of a target product's purchase. In contrast, consumers are less likely to
buy the target product if it is mismatched with products from different categories, for example, a board game displayed with kitchen knives.

The study utilized eye-tracking -- a sensor technology that makes it
possible to know where a person is looking -- to examine how different
types of displays influenced visual attention. Participants in the
study looked at their target product for the same amount of time when it
was paired with similar items or with items from different categories;
however, shoppers spent more time looking at the mismatched products,
even though they were only supposed to be there "for display." "What is surprising is that when I asked people how much they liked the target
products, their preferences didn't change between display settings,"
Karmarkar said. "The findings show that it is not about how much you
like or dislike the item you're looking at, it's about your process
for buying the item. The surrounding display items don't seem to change
how much attention you give the target product, but they can influence
your decision whether to buy it or not." Karmarkar, who holds PhDs
in consumer behavior and neuroscience, says the findings suggests that
seeing similar options on the page reinforces the idea to consumers that they're making the right kind of decision to purchase an item that fits
the category on display.

"When the information is mismatched, it changes the scope of the
decision," she said. "A mismatched display is comparable to shopping in
a store with more variety. You may consider a featured board game but if
you can see other products to buy, this board game may not be the first
kind of purchase you want to make. The mismatched items draw additional attention and compete with the category you were considering." The study,
to be published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, involved 58 participants,
ages 18 to 40, who had to make 36 online shopping decisions for real
products with real money. The findings showing differences in purchase
rates replicate a set of studies Karmarkar published in 2017. In the
new research, she was able to measure what parts of the display were
engaging more or less attention. In addition, the upcoming paper shows
that matched displays increase purchase rates even when they include
more attention-grabbing information, like details about price.

Karmarkar talked with industry experts about product recommendations
systems, which shaped her approach to these questions. Recommender
algorithms can have different designs to meet a variety of retailers' respective goals. Products can be shown with "mismatched" displays when retailers are using cross- promoting tactics based on prior customer
behavior or inventory they may want to sell more rapidly.

The board game example Karmarkar often uses is based on a real experience
she had while shopping online during the month of October.

"I had been browsing games like 'Bananagrams' and when I reloaded the
product page, a Halloween costumes display popped up," she said. "Given my search history, the store probably estimated I had a family. So while I'm
sure they wanted me to buy the game, they also knew they had an active
shopper who might be interested in the Halloween costumes that needed
to sell by the end of the month. It looks like a win-win, but our work
suggests that creating this mismatched situation could have lowered the
chance that I would add the game to my cart." While the study is useful
for online retailers to know the benefits of showing same-category options
on a specific product page, the research is valuable to consumers as well.

"This shows how outside forces shape our decisions in ways we might not recognize," she said. "If a shopper is looking for something specific,
they are likely to focus their attention, regardless of recommender
displays. But when people are just 'browsing stuff online,' different
page designs can create different patterns of attention. Store displays
can change what we choose, even when they don't change what we like." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_California_-_San_Diego. Original written by Christine
Clark. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Uma R. Karmarkar, Ann L. Carroll, Marina Burke and Shori Hijikata.

Category congruence of "display-only" products influences attention
and purchase decisions. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2021 DOI:
10.3389/ fnins.2021.610060 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210820093349.htm

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