Patricia Huddleston, Bridget K. Behe, Stella Minahan and R. Thomas Fernandez
The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the role that visual measures of attention to product and information and price display signage have on purchase intention. The authors…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the role that visual measures of attention to product and information and price display signage have on purchase intention. The authors assessed the effect of visual attention to the product, information or price sign on purchase intention, as measured by likelihood to buy.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used eye-tracking technology to collect data from Australian and US garden centre customers, who viewed eight plant displays in which the signs had been altered to show either price or supplemental information (16 images total). The authors compared the role of visual attention to price and information sign, and the role of visual attention to the product when either sign was present on likelihood to buy.
Findings
Overall, providing product information on a sign without price elicited higher likelihood to buy than providing a sign with price. The authors found a positive relationship between visual attention to price on the display sign and likelihood to buy, but an inverse relationship between visual attention to information and likelihood to buy.
Research limitations/implications
An understanding of the attention-capturing power of merchandise display elements, especially signs, has practical significance. The findings will assist retailers in creating more effective and efficient display signage content, for example, featuring the product information more prominently than the price. The study was conducted on a minimally packaged product, live plants, which may reduce the ability to generalize findings to other product types.
Practical implications
The findings will assist retailers in creating more effective and efficient display signage content. The study used only one product category (plants) which may reduce the ability to generalize findings to other product types.
Originality/value
The study is one of the first to use eye-tracking in a macro-level, holistic investigation of the attention-capturing value of display signage information and its relationship to likelihood to buy. Researchers, for the first time, now have the ability to empirically test the degree to which attention and decision-making are linked.
Details
Keywords
- Consumer behaviour
- Luxury brands
- Retail
- Retailing
- Facet theory
- Shopper marketing
- Co-design
- Electronic intermediaries
- Loyalty data
- Promotional flyers
- Retail atmospherics
- Store design
- Co-branding strategy
- Flagship store
- Place marketing
- Store location
- Virtual store
- Visual merchandising
- Display
- Eye-tracking
- Method
- Point of purchase
- Signs & signboards
Patricia Huddleston, Anna R. McAlister and Fashina Alade
This conceptual paper provides an overview of eye-tracking technology (ETT) as a process-tracing method to study children’s consumer behavior. This paper aims to provide a…
Abstract
Purpose
This conceptual paper provides an overview of eye-tracking technology (ETT) as a process-tracing method to study children’s consumer behavior. This paper aims to provide a literature review of the child as consumer-focused eye-tracking research, identifying theoretical and research gaps. This paper discusses the benefits, drawbacks and ethical implications of ETT and highlights opportunities and best practices for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper details eye movement and how ETT captures it. This paper delivers a typology of different approaches to eye-tracking research and presents information about ETT equipment and metrics. This paper also summarizes previous studies using eye tracking to study children. This paper concludes with research questions and topics for future research where ETT can be used to study child consumers in contexts such as playing advergames, using social media and shopping (in-person and online).
Findings
ETT is commonly used to assess children’s behavior in a variety of contexts but has scarcely been used to study children’s consumer behavior. ETT has great potential to be used to better understand children as consumers.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to review using ETT to study children’s consumer behavior.
Details
Keywords
Juan Mundel, Patricia Huddleston, Bridget Behe, Lynnell Sage and Caroline Latona
This study aims to test the relationship between consumers’ perceptions of product type (utilitarian vs hedonic) and the attentional processes that underlie decision-making among…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to test the relationship between consumers’ perceptions of product type (utilitarian vs hedonic) and the attentional processes that underlie decision-making among minimally branded products.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses eye-tracking measures (i.e. total fixation duration) and data collected through an online survey.
Findings
The study shows that consumers spend more time looking at hedonic (vs utilitarian) and branded (vs unbranded) products, which influences perceptions of quality.
Practical implications
The findings of this research provide guidelines for marketing minimally branded products.
Originality/value
The authors showed that the product type influences the time consumers spend looking at an item. Previous findings about effects of branding are extended to an understudied product category (i.e. live potted plants).