Shape‐ and Trait‐Congruency: Using Appearance‐based Cues as a Basis for Product Recommendations

Abstract

This research demonstrates that a consumer's physical appearance—and, more specifically, his or her body size—predictably influences the product(s) that the consumer is recommended. Four studies conducted in both field and lab settings show that agents more frequently recommend round (vs. angular) shaped products to heavier targets, notably for products and categories in which body size is irrelevant (e.g., lamps and perfume). We attribute this to a combination of shape‐congruency and trait‐congruency, whereby individuals choose products for others based on shared dimensions of the person and product.

Round Faces Are Associated with Sweet Foods: The Role of Crossmodal Correspondence in Social Perception

“…Alternatively, relying on a crossmodal correspondence framework, our findings showed that a good match (but not an overgeneralization) between facial roundness (visual shape) and sweetness (taste) influences impression formation. Taken together, consistent with the literature on shape-taste correspondences [3,28], the findings indicate that multi-modal matching of facial roundness (visual shape) with sweetness (taste) has an impact on impression formation.…”

“…Physical stereotypes in marketplace discrimination, which involves stereotyped treatment of customers [32], is common in encounters with the service industry. Employees therein sometimes base their recommendations on stereotypes [3]. For example, a recent study showed that sales agents are more likely to recommend round (vs. angular) products to obese consumers [3].…”

“…Together, inference of taste preferences forms a fundamental basis for retail and customer service settings. Although inference of others’ preferences is often erroneous and biased in the marketplace [3], we do not yet know how inferences regarding taste preferences are made.…”

A contemporary review of three types of social influence in consumer psychology

“…Unfortunately, stereotypes are often unjust because they can result in faulty thought processes and overgeneralization, inappropriate attributions, discriminatory behaviors and prejudiced attitudes (Brigham, ). Stereotyping and subsequent discrimination can arise because of any one of many individual characteristics, such as body size (Sinha, ; Vallen et al, ), race (Bone, Christensen, & Williams, ; Meyer & Baker, ), gender (Lee, Kim, & Vohs, ), or age (Amatulli, Peluso, Guido, & Yoon, ). Moreover, self‐threats arising from the anticipation of being stereotyped and discriminated against can impact consumers’ product and purchase‐related decisions.…”

“…Interestingly, the impact of body size as an informational cue is not limited to food‐related domains. The body shape of a customer can also influence the product recommendation she receives from a salesperson in a variety of different product categories (e.g., watches, perfume; Vallen et al, ). In particular, a salesperson is more likely to recommend a round‐shaped product to an obese (as opposed to thin) customer, because the salesperson associates the shape of the consumer with the product as well as what the shapes represent (i.e., round = friendly).…”