Purpose This study is the first to examine consumer’s neural reaction to different merchandising communication strategies at the point-of-sale (PoS) by applying functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). By doing so, the purpose of this study is to extend consumer neuroscience to retail and shopper research. Design/methodology/approach Two experiments were conducted in which 36 shoppers were exposed to a realistic grocery shopping scenario while their brain haemodynamics were measured using mobile fNIRS. Findings Results revealed that mobile fNIRS appears a valid method to study neural activation of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in the field of “shopper neuroscience”. More precisely, results demonstrated that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) might be crucial for processing and predicting merchandising communication strategy effectiveness. Research limitations/implications This research gives evidence that certain regions of the PFC, in particular the OFC and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), are crucial to process and evaluate merchandising communication strategies. Practical implications The current work opens a promising new avenue for studying and understanding shopper’s behaviour. Mobile fNIRS enables marketing management to collect neural data from shoppers and analyse neural activity associated with real-life settings. Furthermore, based on a better understanding of shoppers’ perceptual processes of communication strategies, marketers can design more effective merchandising communication strategies. Originality/value The study is the first to implement the innovative, mobile neuroimaging method of fNIRS to a PoS setting. It, therefore, opens up the promising field of “shopper neuroscience”.
Recent research in the field of “neuro-marketing” shows promise to substantially increase knowledge on marketing issues for example price-perception, advertising efficiency, branding and shopper behaviour. Recently, an innovative and mobile applicable neuroimaging method has been proposed, namely functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). However, this method is, in the research field of marketing, still in its infancy and is, consequently, lacking substantial validity. Against this background, this research work applied a convergent validity approach to challenge the validity of (mobile) fNIRS in the field of “neuro-marketing” and consumer neuroscience. More precisely, we aim to replicate a robust and well-investigated neural effect previously detected with fMRI—namely the “first-choice-brand” effect—by using mobile fNIRS. The research findings show that mobile fNIRS appears to be an appropriate neuroimaging method for research in the field of “neuro-marketing” and consumer neuroscience. Additionally, this research work presents guidelines, enabling marketing scholars to utilise mobile fNIRS in their research work.
The (re-)launch of products is frequently accompanied by point-of-sale (PoS) marketing campaigns in order to foster sales. Predicting the success of these merchandising elements at the PoS on sales is of interest to research and practice, as the misinvestments that are based on the fragmented PoS literature are tremendous. Likewise, the predictive power of neuropsychological methods has been demonstrated in various research work. Nevertheless, the practical application of these neuropsychological methods is still limited. In order to foster the application of neuropsychological methods in research and practice, the current research work aims to explore, whether mobile functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) – as a portable neuroimaging method – has the potential to predict the success of PoS merchandising elements by rendering significant neural signatures of brain regions of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), highlighting its potential to forecast shoppers’ behaviour aka sales at the PoS. Building on previous research findings, the results of the given research work indicate that the neural signal of brain regions of the dlPFC, measured with mobile fNIRS, is able to predict actual sales associated with PoS merchandising elements, relying on the cortical relief effect. More precisely, the research findings support the hypothesis that the reduced neural activity of brain regions associated with the dlPFC can predict sales at the PoS, emphasising another crucial neural signature to predict shoppers’ purchase behaviour, next to the frequently cited reward association system. The research findings offer an innovative perspective on how to design and evaluate PoS merchandising elements, indicating fruitful theoretical and practical implications.
Despite advances in the management of HIV infection with the introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy, it is well known that HIV can directly infect the central nervous system and, as a result of such infection, neuropsychological impairments can be manifested. In this study, we tried to determine whether seropositivity was associated with a poor neuropsychological performance in patients with hemophilia and HIV. Such a cohort of patients is very often underrepresented and understudied in the HIV literature. To amend such a gap, we carried out an extensive neuropsychological evaluation on these patients, and compared their performance with that of a group of seronegative hemophilia patients. The results revealed that HIV infection in HIV-seropositive (HIV+) hemophilia patients was associated with deficits in attention, short-term memory, abstraction, and visual recognition. Such results are still preliminary and explorative due to the small cohort of patients enrolled. However, the results do seem to have some important implications for day-to-day functioning, as the level of impairment detected may cause difficulties in completing common everyday tasks such as maintaining adherence to complex medication regimens or maintaining social life activities. Continued research into the mechanisms related to HIV and neurocognitive dysfunction may provide targets for interventions that could have meaningful consequences in the real world for HIV hemophilia patients.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.