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Interest, but not liking, drives consumer preference toward novelty

Author

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  • Sung, Billy
  • Vanman, Eric
  • Hartley, Nicole

Abstract

Do consumers really like familiarity and therefore dislike novelty? This is a central question that has resonated through different fields of marketing and psychology. Past research has found that people heuristically associate familiarity to liking, but they also prefer novelty in certain motivational contexts. This paper presents three studies to show that novelty does not result in liking but instead, evokes interest—a similar but functionally different positive affective experience. Specifically, we show that people feel interested toward and therefore favour a product when it is subjectively perceived to be new or said to be new, even when the novel product is objectively identical to its counterpart. Novelty, however, was found to be unrelated to liking. These findings suggest that consumers’ paradoxical tendency to favour both familiarity and novelty is manifested in ways beyond a general emotional valence account. Specifically, familiarity appears to evoke liking whereas novelty appears to evoke interest.

Suggested Citation

  • Sung, Billy & Vanman, Eric & Hartley, Nicole, 2019. "Interest, but not liking, drives consumer preference toward novelty," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 242-248.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:aumajo:v:27:y:2019:i:4:p:242-248
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ausmj.2019.06.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sung, Billy & Hartley, Nicole & Vanman, Eric & Phau, Ian, 2016. "How can the word “NEW†evoke consumers' experiences of novelty and interest?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 166-173.
    2. McAlister, Leigh & Pessemier, Edgar, 1982. "Variety Seeking Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Review," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 9(3), pages 311-322, December.
    3. Campbell, Margaret C & Goodstein, Ronald C, 2001. "The Moderating Effect of Perceived Risk on Consumers' Evaluations of Product Incongruity: Preference for the Norm," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 28(3), pages 439-449, December.
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