How Experience Variety Shapes Post-Purchase Product Evaluation
Forthcoming, Journal of Marketing Research
49 Pages Posted: 19 Jul 2014 Last revised: 18 Mar 2015
Date Written: March 17, 2015
Abstract
Product usage experiences have a significant impact on post-purchase evaluation and subsequent behavior. Consumers look to their own experiences, as well as those of others, when deciding what to buy and what to recommend. Contrary to the intuition that varied experiences should enhance evaluation, we demonstrate that in some situations, perceiving usage experiences as less – not more – varied improves post-purchase product evaluation. Less varied usage experiences make consumers think product are used more frequently, and as a result, perceiving usage experiences as less varied makes consumers more satisfied with their purchase, more likely to buy it again, and more likely to recommend it. In addition to their practical implications, the findings make important theoretical contributions to the variety literature and towards understanding frequency and numerosity judgments.
Keywords: variety, product evaluation, product experiences, categorization, frequency judgment, similarity
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