If a potentially embarrassing product
has the popular Facebook button or Twitter icon next to it, consumers
are less likely to buy than if the social-media links are missing, two
marketing scholars have shown. But if a reputation-enhancing product has
the links, consumers are more likely to buy.
In the study, nearly 200 people, ages
16 to 45, rated their likelihood of buying items presented on a mock
shopping site. When men considered the acne medicine Clearasil and women
looked at Spanx body-shaping underwear, ratings on an "intend to
purchase" scale were 25% lower when social-media symbols were present.
But when men looked at bike shorts and women at fashionable perfume, the
likelihood of buying rose by about the same amount. The icons made
consumers act as if they were under surveillance by their social
networks, the authors said.
"The 'Conspicuous Purchase' Effect," David Neal and
Claudia Townsend, paper presented at the State of Style Conference, New
York (February)
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