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Shopping under the influence of curiosity: How retailers use mystery to drive purchase motivation

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  • Hill, Krista M.
  • Fombelle, Paul W.
  • Sirianni, Nancy J.

Abstract

Mystery appeals are gaining popularity as a shopper marketing strategy. In this practice, firms intentionally restrict information about their offerings in order to pique consumer curiosity and drive purchase motivation. The present research examines curiosity's role in influencing consumer behavior. Study 1 reveals that mystery appeals create more curiosity than other affective states, and that curiosity predicts purchase motivation via a direct path. Exploring the optimal level of information needed to maximize curiosity, study 1 finds that participants are more curious when given moderate information, over minimal information. Next, study 2 demonstrates that shopping in an actively curious state can impact consumer outcomes via an indirect path that is mediated by consumer evaluation of the mystery appeal. This research is the first to identify curiosity as the affective state that is primarily triggered by mystery appeals, and to explain how curiosity directly and indirectly impacts consumer purchase motivation.

Suggested Citation

  • Hill, Krista M. & Fombelle, Paul W. & Sirianni, Nancy J., 2016. "Shopping under the influence of curiosity: How retailers use mystery to drive purchase motivation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 1028-1034.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:69:y:2016:i:3:p:1028-1034
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.08.015
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lerner, Jennifer & Han, Seunghee & Keltner, Dacher, 2007. "Feelings and Consumer Decision Making: Extending the Appraisal-Tendency Framework," Scholarly Articles 37143006, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
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    Cited by:

    1. Huang, Qian & Chen, Juan & Li, Ruoxi & Liu, Jingtong, 2024. "Experiencing awe, engaging in extreme sports: Incidental awe as an effective promoter for extreme sports engagement," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    2. Li, Wenjing & Hardesty, David M. & Craig, Adam W. & Song, Lei, 2022. "Hidden price promotions: Could retailer price promotions backfire?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    3. Toteva, Irina T. & Lutz, Richard J. & Shaw, Eric H., 2021. "The curious case of productivity orientation: The influence of advertising stimuli on affect and preference for subscription boxes," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
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    5. Silvia Cachero-Martínez & Rodolfo Vázquez-Casielles, 2018. "Developing the Marketing Experience to Increase Shopping Time: The Moderating Effect of Visit Frequency," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-21, November.
    6. Jing Lu & Cheng Lv & Zhongzhen Yang & Mark Hansen, 2019. "Market Segmentation of New Gateway Airports Incorporating Passengers’ Curiosity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-24, December.
    7. Shin, Eonyou & Lee, Jung Eun, 2021. "What makes consumers purchase apparel products through social shopping services that social media fashion influencers have worn?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 416-428.
    8. Gerrath, Maximilian H.E.E. & Biraglia, Alessandro, 2021. "How less congruent new products drive brand engagement: The role of curiosity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 13-24.
    9. Yang, Shuai & Carlson, Jeffrey R. & Chen, Sixing, 2020. "How augmented reality affects advertising effectiveness: The mediating effects of curiosity and attention toward the ad," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    10. Miao, Xiaoyu & Niu, Ben & Yang, Congcong & Feng, Yuanyue, 2023. "Examining the gamified effect of the blindbox design: The moderating role of price," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    11. Aleksandra Kovacheva & Hristina Nikolova, 2024. "Uncertainty marketing tactics: An overview and a unifying framework," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 1-22, January.
    12. Wei, Zhiyong & Dou, Wenyu & Jiang, Qingyun & Gu, Chenyan, 2021. "Influence of incentive frames on offline-to-online interaction of outdoor advertising," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    13. Okazaki, Shintaro & Navarro, Angeles & Mukherji, Prokriti & Plangger, Kirk, 2019. "The curious versus the overwhelmed: Factors influencing QR codes scan intention," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 498-506.
    14. Wang, Xingyuan & Liu, Yun & Wang, Shuyang & Chen, Haipeng (Allan), 2022. "Keep it vague? New product preannouncement, regulatory focus, and word-of-mouth," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    15. Tang, Jiansheng & Zhou, Jiamin & Zheng, Chundong & Jiao, Sijing, 2022. "More expectations, more disappointments: Ego depletion in uncertain promotion," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    16. Wen-Yu Tsao, 2019. "Understanding Push and Pull Powers on Intention to Accept for 3D printer," International Journal of Human Resource Studies, Macrothink Institute, vol. 9(2), pages 299-319, December.
    17. Huarng, Kun-Huang & Bresciani, Stefano & Ferraris, Alberto, 2020. "Experiential interaction design model," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 486-490.
    18. Shukla, Paurav & Singh, Jaywant & Wang, Weisha, 2022. "The influence of creative packaging design on customer motivation to process and purchase decisions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 338-347.
    19. Bin Kim, Woo & Jung Choo, Ho, 2023. "How virtual reality shopping experience enhances consumer creativity: The mediating role of perceptual curiosity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    20. Strong, Carolyn A. & Martin, Brett A.S. & Jin, Hyun Seung & Greer, Dominique & O'Connor, Peter, 2019. "Why do consumers research their ancestry? Do self-uncertainty and the need for closure influence consumer's involvement in ancestral products?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 332-337.
    21. Xiaohui Liu & Na Jiang & Mengyao Fu & Zhao Cai & Eric T. K. Lim & Chee-Wee Tan, 2023. "What Piques Users’ Curiosity on Open Innovation Platforms? An Analysis Based on Mobile App Stores," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 1639-1660, August.
    22. Kristensson, Per & Wästlund, Erik & Söderlund, Magnus, 2017. "Influencing consumers to choose environment friendly offerings: Evidence from field experiments," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 89-97.
    23. Cachero-Martínez, Silvia & Vázquez-Casielles, Rodolfo, 2021. "Building consumer loyalty through e-shopping experiences: The mediating role of emotions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).

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