This article is intended to address two questions. First, do ambiguous target products create different buying experiences than well-defined product categories? In other words, does the average consumer have sufficient previous experience with the target category to make a buying decision without aid? Second, can a favorable compliment category context be integrated into a target products retail display and packaging?

In order to answer these questions we will divide the consumer into two distinct segments based on their level of previous involvement with the target product. The first segment is the novice. Novice consumer are defined by the contrasting effect of context on their buying decisions. The other segment, experts, are defined by the assimilation effect of context. Experts and novices differ in how they process stimulations from target information and how they use the surrounding contextual information to make a judgment on the target product (Nam and Sternthal 2008).

The reason for dividing the consumer into these two segments is because they vary significantly in what they use as a standard for comparison. It is important to identify the standard because it is one of the first tools used by the consumer to make a judgment (Mussweiler 2003). At the novice level, the standard is highly subject to context. Novices are not likely to have a defined standard for the target product, and therefor rely on accessible and applicable environmental references to develop a standard for comparison (Lynch 1991).
Experts, on the other hand, are likely to have previous experience in the target product. They use their experience as a standard with which to evaluate the target. They are also less likely to be affected by context information, and in some cases they can even overcorrect for easily accessible context information and evaluate the target incorrectly based on a compromised standard (Nam and Sternthal 2008). However, accessibility plays a vital role in the value of context for the expert. Experts are more likely to consider associations between the target and the context if the information provided by the context is less accessible. Less accessible content acts as a stimulus for experts, and motivates them to consider associations on a deeper level (Nam and Sternthal 2008).

Returning to the first question, we have established that the product category targets discussed are ambiguous targets for novice consumers. This ambiguity allows novices to be heavily influenced by different-category contexts. Experts, on the other hand, are more influenced by stimuli resulting from less accessible context information. This information will guide the following discussion on integrating compliment category context into target product retail display and packaging.

We will start by focusing on the novice segment and defining their contextual needs, then focus on adapting the context to address the issue of information accessibility for experts. Our goal is to empower the consumer to make a positive judgment on a buying decision through contextual engagement. This can be accomplished by designing a context that is both highly accessible (identifiable benefits) and relevant to the target category. A high context relevance is necessary to produce a comparison effect rather than a contrast effect. A study by Nam and Sternthal (2008) shows that a non-relevant context perceived as high-value by the consumer will result in a low-value perception of the target product. The opposite is also true, but in an integrated context situation, a comparison to a low-value context risks devaluing the target product due to the close proximity of the context to the target.

Accessibility is the glue that holds a relevant, high-value context to the target product. In order to create a highly accessible context, we need to discover what context the target consumers are most comfortable with. If we can re-initiate the cognitive process from previous positive buying experiences in a high-value, high-relevance category, then we can use the consumer’s memory to offload part of the buying decision. The less effort needed by our target consumer purchase the target product, the more pleasant the buying experience will be. To access the consumer’s previous cognitive engagements, certain visual cues will be needed to draw attention to the existence of the context. It is important to note that novices can exhibit the same judgment as experts when they are engaged in highly accessible context. Using the right visual cues will empower the novice to feel more confident in their engagement with the target product.

Novices can be intimidated by complex statistics, facts and figures (Nam and Sternthal 2008). These items, however, are what the experts typically seek first. It is essential that the context association contain this display of information, but that it be accompanied by benefits related to the facts. Experts typically recognize the fact-benefit relationship without aid, so it is important to they retain the feeling of an informed consumer without making the information inaccessible to the novice.

Balancing the need to empower novices while not threatening the intelligence of the expert will be a  key measure of success for an integrated context. If all of the attributes discussed above are presented, it will be a beneficial retail strategy to integrate a favorable compliment category context into target product’s retail displays and packaging.

Tags: communicate, design research, interaction, process, solutions, system, theory, usability, visual

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