The interactive effects of affect and shopping goal on information search and product evaluations.

Abstract

Although shoppers often want to evaluate products to make a purchase decision, they can also shop for enjoyment. In each case, the amount of time they spend on shopping and the number of options they consider can depend on the mood they happen to be in. We predicted that mood can signal whether the goal has been attained and when people should stop processing information. When people are primarily motivated to purchase a particular type of product, positive mood signals that they have done enough. Thus, they consider less information if they are happy than if they are unhappy. When people shop for enjoyment, however, positive mood signals that they are still having fun. Thus, they consider more information when they are happy than when they are not. Four experiments among university students (N = 827) examined these possibilities. Experiment 1 provided initial evidence for the interactive effects of mood and goals on search behavior and product evaluation. Other studies examined the implications of this conceptualization for different domains: (a) the relative impact of brand and attribute information on judgments (Experiment 2), (b) gender differences in shopping behavior (Experiment 3), and (c) the number of options that people review in an actual online shopping website (Experiment 4).

The influence of thematic product displays on consumers: An elaboration‐based account

“…Although the shopping motivation cannot be observed directly, previous research suggests some proxies for it. For instance, males are more likely to have a preexisting purchase motive than females (Chen, Wyer, & Shen, ), and office workers are more likely to have such motive than others when shopping (Lam, Vandenbosch, & Pearce, ). Therefore, retailers should be particularly careful in choosing the products to be displayed in congruent settings when their store visitors are dominated by males or office workers.…”

A Multistage, Multiprocess Analysis of Consumer Judgment: A Selective Review and Conceptual Framework

“…If their goal is to enjoy themselves, however, they are more likely to use their affect as a basis for inferring whether this goal is being attained and to persist longer if they are happy than they would otherwise. Thus, in a simulated Internet shopping situation, individuals with a purchase goal considered fewer options when they were happy than when they were sad, whereas individuals with an enjoyment goal considered more items in the former case (Chen, Wyer, & Shen, ). In a second study, participants received information about a product's brand followed by a set of specific features.…”

How much is enough? An investigation of nonprofessional investors information search and stopping rule use

“…Specifically, these studies provide participants with specific information cues to search in order to complete an experimental choice task. For example, Chen et al (2015) examine the impact of affect and task goal on consumers' information search and purchase decisions. Chen et al (2015) provide participants with 30 customer reviews and measure information search by capturing the number of reviews (of the 30) that participants read.…”

“…For example, Chen et al (2015) examine the impact of affect and task goal on consumers' information search and purchase decisions. Chen et al (2015) provide participants with 30 customer reviews and measure information search by capturing the number of reviews (of the 30) that participants read. In a separate experiment, Chen et al (2015) provide participants with information regarding the location, price, and specialties of 10 different restaurants and measure information search by the number of information cues each participant read.…”

“…Chen et al (2015) provide participants with 30 customer reviews and measure information search by capturing the number of reviews (of the 30) that participants read. In a separate experiment, Chen et al (2015) provide participants with information regarding the location, price, and specialties of 10 different restaurants and measure information search by the number of information cues each participant read. Huang (2000) examine the effect of information processing goals and political sophistication on the search for candidate information and voters' decision processes.…”