PLoS ONE (Jan 2022)
Influences of viewing angle, product position, and consumers' physical characteristics on their Kansei images.
Abstract
Changes in consumer behavior in recent years have led to a steady increase in the number of online shoppers. The viewing angle of a product and its position on a webpage can affect consumers' Kansei images and purchase intentions. This study aimed to determine the influences of product viewing angle and position on a webpage on consumers' Kansei images; the influences of consumers' physical characteristics (i.e., sex, dominant hand, and dominant eye) on their Kansei images were also explored. An experiment was designed to evaluate the influences of viewing angle and position on consumers' Kansei images. A product's viewing angle and position on the webpage in question served as independent variables, and the participants' Kansei images served as the dependent variable. Seven representative viewing angles were selected. A predetermined product was placed in nine positions in a 3×3 grid on a webpage. A total of 63 combinations were obtained, and an experiment and interview were designed to investigate the participants' Kansei images for all 63. The following conclusions were drawn: 1. Viewing angle affected the participants' Kansei images; 2. the position of the product on the webpage affected the participants' Kansei images; and 3. some physical characteristics affected the participants' Kansei images. In summary, online marketing platforms could document shoppers' physical characteristics to provide them with personalized product displays in order to cater to their Kansei images preferences. These research findings could be applied to online shopping platforms, which could attract more diverse groups of clients by adjusting product display angles and product positions on webpages based on consumers' physical characteristics and preferences.