Consumer perception of visually novel design with the influence of brand strength

Abstract

Product appearance can contribute to market success, which has been addressed by many research and practical cases. Visual Novelty, as an important aspect of product appearance, is proved to influence consumer purchase decisions. A brand is also used frequently to assist in making purchase decisions. It might be interesting for product designers and brand managers to know how different brands should choose the proper level of visual novelty to gain consumer preference. The present research investigates the joint influence of brand strength and visual novelty on consumer preference by drawing on the concepts of purchase motivations and roles of brands. This research deployed an experimental study through an online questionnaire, in which people were asked to evaluate their attitudes towards a novel design and a typical design for electric water kettles and Bluetooth speakers. Contrasting to the hypotheses, the results show that people more strongly prefer a typical-looking product for a strong brand than a weak brand. Moreover, the preference for a typical design is weaker and less significant for a weak brand. The possible reason could be that the product categories used in this research are mainly driven by utilitarian motivations instead of the predefined utilitarian and expressive motivations. People pursue little expressive need, so a visually novel product may be unnecessary for self-expression of uniqueness. Conversely, a more typical design might better fulfill the practical need for products and hence is preferred. Meanwhile, a strong brand helps to create more confidence about the possible performance quality and hence product choices than a weak brand, so the preference for a typical design is stronger for a strong brand than a weak brand.