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The Product-Agnosia Effect: How More Visual Impressions Affect Product Distinctiveness in Comparative Choice

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  • Jayson Shi Jia
  • Baba Shiv
  • Sanjay Rao

Abstract

Consumer choice is often based on the relative visual appeal of competing products. Lay intuition, common marketing practice, and extant literature all suggest that more visual impressions help consumers distinguish products. This research shows that the opposite can occur. Rather than highlighting differences, seeing more pictures of products being compared can obfuscate perceptions, reduce distinctiveness and attractiveness of products, and increase choice uncertainty. Six experiments demonstrate that this "product-agnosia" effect is driven by shifts in the perceptual focus level of visual information processing. More visual impressions increased component-oriented and decreased gestalt-oriented perceptual focus, which undermined the distinctiveness of products distinguished on a gestalt level (e.g., by style). The effect reversed for products distinguished on a component level (e.g., by technical features). Overall, the efficacy of "showing more" depended on matching consumers' visual-processing style and the level (gestalt vs. component) at which products are differentiated.

Suggested Citation

  • Jayson Shi Jia & Baba Shiv & Sanjay Rao, 2014. "The Product-Agnosia Effect: How More Visual Impressions Affect Product Distinctiveness in Comparative Choice," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(2), pages 342-360.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/676600
    DOI: 10.1086/676600
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    Cited by:

    1. Maier, Erik & Dost, Florian, 2018. "Fluent contextual image backgrounds enhance mental imagery and evaluations of experience products," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 207-220.
    2. Ketron, Seth & Naletelich, Kelly & Migliorati, Stefano, 2021. "Representational versus abstract imagery: Effects on purchase intentions between vice and virtue foods," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 52-62.
    3. Maier, Erik, 2019. "Serial product evaluations online: A three-factor model of leadership, fluency and tedium during product search," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 558-579.
    4. Zecong Ma & Sergio Palacios, 2021. "Image-mining: exploring the impact of video content on the success of crowdfunding," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(4), pages 265-285, December.
    5. Fürst, Andreas & Pečornik, Nina & Binder, Christian, 2021. "All or Nothing in Sensory Marketing: Must All or Only Some Sensory Attributes Be Congruent With a Product’s Primary Function?," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(3), pages 439-458.
    6. Wang, Qiuzhen & Ma, Da & Chen, Hanyue & Ye, Xuhong & Xu, Qing, 2020. "Effects of background complexity on consumer visual processing: An eye-tracking study," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 270-280.

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