Characters with a variety of typefaces are ubiquitous in our daily lives. How do typeface characteristics influence consumers’ preferences toward different kinds of products? The current research identifies the effect of an important design characteristic of typefaces—curvature on consumers’ preferences toward hedonic products. Our four experiments reveal that when consumers are exposed to hedonic products whose advertisements or packaging use round typefaces (high curvature), they show greater preferences toward them. This phenomenon is induced by the implicit associations between round typefaces and hedonic products which automatically initiate consumers’ mental simulation of experiences related with the products. This simulation process triggers pleasant feelings which eventually enhance preferences. We conclude with the implications of these findings for marketers, such as for their typeface choices in marketing actions. Theoretically, we contribute to a growing body of research examining the congruity between typeface characteristics and product type.
Though artificial intelligence (AI) recommendation is a hot topic in recent marketing research, previous research has shown a convergent tendency for aversion to AI recommendation. It is imperative to find ways to promote AI usage and reduce consumers’ AI aversion. This study fills this void by exploring the effect of AI (vs. human) recommenders on consumers’ preferences for search versus experience products in the context of e‐commerce. Two studies provide convergent evidence that consumers show less avoidance of algorithms when recommending search products compared to experience products. A behavioral experiment (Study 1, N = 112) validates that consumers are less likely to purchase experience products recommended by AI, while there are no significant differences between AI versus human recommenders when recommending search products. Using event‐related potential (ERP), a further consumer neuroscience study (Study 2, N = 26) shows that consumers have a higher level of cognitive conflict (i.e., a larger magnitude of N2) when AI (vs. human) recommends experience products, while the effect disappears for search products. This paper shows that for search products, marketers can obtain similar evaluations using AI recommenders, which is relatively cheaper and more time‐saving compared with human recommenders. Therefore, our work provides important implications for theory and practice on e‐commerce and marketing communication.
With the progress of high technologies in payment systems, the usage rate of mobile payment is rapidly growing worldwide. However, whether mobile payment influences consumers’ choices between hedonic and utilitarian products, an important question in the field of consumer well-being research, has not been fully investigated. To address this research gap, the authors examine the influence of mobile payment and traditional payment methods (e.g., cash payment, card payment) on consumers’ preferences for hedonic products. They find that mobile payment triggers consumers’ hedonic mindset, which increases consumers’ preferences for hedonic products. The effect is moderated by mobile device type such that the effect is weaker for smart wearable (vs. mobile phone) payment because smart wearable devices are less associated with a hedonic mindset. This study offers novel insight into the effect of high technologies in payment systems, specifically mobile payment, on consumer well-being and calls for more investigation of the effects of mobile payment.
This study examines the impact that consumer-entrepreneur brand attachment has on opinions of entrepreneurs as endorsers of their companies. To test the hypothesis, we conducted a 2 x 2 factorial design manipulated attachment strength to the entrepreneur and fronting situation. Results found entrepreneur brand attachment significantly affects consumers' opinions of entrepreneurs, with no significant effect for fronting situation. Findings suggest that when consumers feel attached to a entrepreneur and view that whether positive or negative fronting behaviors, their opinions of the entrepreneur tend to remain positive. The results imply that entrepreneur brands and their top team would benefit from understanding relational and situational factors that trigger consumers' feelings of attachment.
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