Using the senses to evaluate aesthetic products at the point of sale: The moderating role of consumers’ goals

In this research, we expand our understanding of how aesthetic products induce shoppers’ responses at the point of sale. We advance and test a more integrative approach in which not only the sensory evaluations of the aesthetic product, but also the shoppers’ personal goals affect their purchase responses. Study 1 uses a lab setting to reveal that shoppers’ sensory evaluations of a new apartment elicit feelings of attachment, which mediate the effect of the apartment's aesthetic features on shoppers’ purchase responses. Further, shoppers assess the extent to which the product will contribute to attaining personal goals, which moderates the effect of emotional attachment on purchase responses. Study 2 replicates these findings using a field-study approach. In contrast to prior research, our results show that affective processing is not the sole driver of shoppers’ responses to aesthetic products, as its effect is moderated by cognitive evaluations of whether social status and materialistic goals will be attained through the acquisition of the aesthetic product. We discuss how both retailers and manufacturers who market aesthetic products can benefit from appealing to the personal goals of their shoppers.