Liz C. Wang, Julie Baker, Judy Wagner, & Kirk Wakefield
Executive Summary
Given the plethora of retail Web sites, marketers seek ways to break through online clutter and to persuade shoppers to remain on their sites and to conclude purchases. The authors conduct two studies that show that the use of lifelike characters ("avatars") on Web sites have a significant impact on users engaged in online shopping. The contexts of the two experiments were (1) the travel service industry, in which online shoppers considered making reservations to visit a tropical island, and (2) the household improvement and decoration market, in which online shoppers considered the purchase of custom-made window blinds to upgrade the appearance of their homes.
This research shows that using lifelike characters can enhance the consumer's perception of social interaction often missed in online (versus bricks-and-mortar) shopping, leading to positive feelings about the online experience and higher perceptions of value. Specifically, the social cues generated by the characters enhanced online shoppers' arousal and pleasure, resulting in consumers who were focused and engaged in their experiences (i.e., in a state of flow). In turn, the recreational and utilitarian value generated from the positive feelings and states of flow enhanced shoppers' intentions to purchase from the Web sites and to recommend the Web sites to their friends. The findings also indicate that the effect of social cues associated with the use of humanlike characters appear to have a stronger emotional effect on women than on men.
Furthermore, older consumers were less influenced than younger shoppers by these social cue effects. Consequently, the use of social characters would be particularly useful when targeting younger female online consumers. Finally, the results indicate that shoppers who were more involved in the product category (e.g., had an ongoing interest) were more likely to experience emotional and social impact from the use of the lifelike characters on Web sites.
Biography
Liz C. Wang is an assistant professor in the College of Business at the University of Dallas. She received her PhD from the University of Texas at Arlington. Her research interests include internet marketing and retailing. In addition to Journal of Marketing, she has been published in International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising.
Julie Baker is Associate Professor of Marketing in the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University. She received her PhD in Marketing from Texas A&M University. Her research interests include the effects of retail and service environments on consumer perceptions and behaviors, mall shopping behavior, consumer perceptions of waiting time, and services marketing.
Judy Wagner is currently an assistant professor at East Carolina University. She obtained her PhD in Marketing from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1995). Her research has been published in Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and Journal of Business Research, among other marketing and psychological journals. Her current research interests include the effectiveness of agenda sales strategies, order effects on choice, buyer–seller relationships, the "computer as a social actor," and data collection method effects.
Kirk Wakefield serves as Chair of the Department of Marketing in the Hankamer Business School at Baylor University. His interests include hedonic consumption (including sports and entertainment), sponsorships, and price information processing. Kirk's most recent work in these areas appear in Journal of Advertising, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Leisure Research, and Journal of Advertising Research.
Journal of Marketing, Vol. 71, No. 3, July 2007
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