The Influence of Category Congruence on Consumer Purchase Decisions

Introduction

The ever-expanding realm of online shopping has revolutionized the way consumers make purchasing decisions, specially in food market. Unlike traditional in-store shopping, where shoppers encounter products through physical displays, online shoppers are directed to dedicated product pages. Within these pages, a crucial decision awaits: "Add to Cart?"

However, even in this focused space of the purchase funnel, additional options are on display.

Retailers often employ algorithms to recommend or cross-promote related products lower on the page.

The question arises: Do these "display items" matter?

Our research reveals that these non-focal items do indeed influence the decision to add the target product to the cart.

Surprisingly, we discovered that similar display items increase the likelihood of purchase, while dissimilar ones decrease it. In other words, the presence of unrelated items reduces the chances of buying a food product when it is shown alongside other category items, as opposed to being displayed with other similar food products. In this study, we explore how this effect is driven by consumers' attention to on-screen information during the decision-making process, employing eye-tracking and behavioral measures.

Enhancing Purchase Likelihood with Matched Display Items

Our hypothesis suggests that similar or "matched" display items boost the likelihood of purchase by enhancing the attractiveness of the purchase opportunity. When display and target products align, it reinforces the appeal of the chosen category for consumers.

Conversely, we hypothesize that mismatched display items might distract consumers, reminding them of the opportunity costs associated with alternative product categories. We predict that people will spend more time observing display items when they are mismatched.

To test this, we conducted a study where participants shopped for 30 different target items through an online interface. Their attention was meticulously tracked using an eye-tracker. The target product was occasionally shown alongside two "display-only" items from the same, or matched, category, while at other times, it was displayed with items from a mismatched category. As a control condition, landscape pictures were shown alongside the target product in a third of the trials. Each participant made all three types of choices (12 matched, 12 mismatched, 12 control), and their purchase decisions were recorded in real-time.

Research Findings: Attention, Likability, and Recall

Our study replicated previous findings, demonstrating that consumers purchased more products when shown alongside matched display items than mismatched ones.

Intriguingly, we observed no difference in the attention paid to the target item, measured by fixation time duration, between decisions with matched or mismatched displays.

Additionally, the effects of matched and mismatched displays on likability and recall (memory) of the target products were also indistinguishable. This suggests that the display effect does not alter the value or relationship between shoppers and the target product.

The Power of Mismatched Display Items: Attention Magnets

However, upon analyzing the attention patterns for the display-only products, a compelling revelation emerged.

Shoppers spent more time fixating on mismatched display items compared to matched ones.

Remarkably, this effect occurred despite the knowledge that these display products were not available for purchase instead of the target item. This finding provides concrete evidence supporting our hypothesis that mismatched display items act as distractors, creating new "attention magnets" for consumers. Taken together, our findings suggest that the impact of display items lies not in altering consumers' relationship with the featured target product but rather in modifying the decision process itself, expanding it from a category-specific choice to a more complex evaluation involving multiple categories.

Conclusions and Final Thoughts

In conclusion, our research has revealed the profound impact of category congruence on consumer attention and purchase decisions. By leveraging matched display items, retailers can create a seamless and compelling shopping experience that bolsters purchase likelihood. Simultaneously, understanding the disruptive nature of mismatched display items enables retailers to mitigate distractions and guide consumers towards their intended purchases. As the world of online shopping continues to evolve, embracing the power of category congruence will be the cornerstone of success, empowering businesses to outshine their competitors and forge lasting connections with discerning consumers.

TIPS: Simplifying product and display details is often necessary to eliminate extraneous factors.