Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of experiential augmentation on product evaluation by consumers. An important distinction is made between product-related experiential augmentation and experiential augmentation of the environment. Furthermore, the research examines how brand familiarity moderates the effect of experiential augmentation.

In two experiments (N = 210 and N = 70), both product-related and environmental experiential augmentation were varied. Participants tasted and evaluated a new coffee product from either a well-known or a fictitious brand.

The findings of the first experiment indicate that product-related experiential augmentation contributes positively to product evaluation for both an unfamiliar and a familiar brand. Experiential augmentation of the environment influences product evaluation negatively, but only in the absence of product-related experiential augmentation. The second experiment tests some possible explanations for this negative effect and shows that it occurs only in the case of a familiar brand.

The findings offer implications for marketing managers seeking to positively influence consumer product evaluations through experiential augmentation. First, marketing managers are advised to make a distinction between product-related experiential augmentation and experiential augmentation of the evaluation environment, and, second, they should take brand familiarity into account when employing experiential augmentation of the environment.

This research contributes to the literature by showing that product-related experiential augmentation and experiential augmentation of the environment differ in the impact they have on product evaluation and providing insight into the relationship between brand familiarity and experiential augmentation.

Product design is an important marketing variable. Most literature about consumer preference for product design focuses on aesthetic product value. However, the appearance of a product also influences consumer perception of functionalities, quality, and ease of use. This paper therefore, seeks to assess how preference for visual complexity and symmetry depends on the type of product value that is important to people.

In a conjoint study the utility of visual complexity and symmetry in determining preference for eight VCR pictures are assessed (n=422). These utilities are used as dependent variables in regression analyses with the different product values (aesthetic, functionalities, quality, and ease of use) as independent variables.

The effects of visual complexity and symmetry on consumers' preferences depend on the product value to which consumers paid attention.

To increase insight into the relationship between design and consumer product preference, the impact of a design on consumer perception of all types of product value – not only aesthetic value – should be taken into account.

This research has direct implications for managers overseeing aspects of product development relating to aligning the design effort with target customers and determining specific product design executions.

A focus on product aspects that are most important to target consumers helps communicating product advantage to consumers, both in product design and in marketing. In previous studies, relations between the importance of functional and expressive product aspects and gender, age and social class have been indicated. However, knowledge of the relation of demographic variables to more specific product aspects is more informative for product development and marketing purposes. The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into the relative importance of product aspects for different consumer groups as important information for product development and marketing. This study seeks to identify relations between gender, age, education and income, and the importance of aesthetic aspects, symbolic aspects, functionalities, ease of use and quality in buying a product.

Consumers (n=247) covering a range in age, gender, education and income, indicated the importance of several product aspects in the purchase decision for ten differentiated product categories. Next to relations between demographic variables and product aspect importances, the influence of social significance of the product category on these relations was assessed.

A number of significant relations between age, gender, education and income and the importance of aesthetic and symbolic aspects, functionalities, ease of use and quality in making a purchase decision have been found.

Relationships of several demographic variables with more specific product aspects – namely aesthetic, symbolic, functionalities, ease of use and quality – have been identified. Knowledge of these relations will help companies to better adjust their products and marketing efforts to fit consumer preferences.