Stimulating purchase intention by focusing on consumer’s emotional perception

By Reshma Parveen & Abhinash Jena on September 24, 2024

This article uses a conceptual approach to analyze the existing literature on consumer perception, perceived value, trust, credibility, interactivity, and engagement to investigate how it can stimulate purchase intention. Consumer perception describes how customers perceive and interpret brands, products, and services based on their interactions, experiences, and impressions. Several factors, including advertising, word-of-mouth, packaging, pricing, and overall brand reputation shape it. Furthermore, online reviews, social media opinions, and interactions about a brand also play a crucial role in shaping consumer perception of a product or service (Wang et al., 2023).

Effective knowledge transfer from companies to consumers shapes their perceptions, brand attitudes, and loyalty. Knowledge transfer involves various stages of knowledge transformation and is not just a simple transfer of knowledge to individuals or communities. It is influenced by both positive and negative factors, depending on the context (Rajagopal, 2017). According to Ozuem et al. (2016), the consumer decision-making process includes problem awareness, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchasing decisions, and post-purchase behavior. However, there is often a gap between a company’s perception of consumer expectations and the actual consumer expectations (Rajagopal, 2017). Comprehensive consumer behavior models have been developed to understand this process. One such model which has been spelt out in considerable detail is the Nicosia Model (Pellémans, 1971).

The objective of this article is to understand how consumers perceive and interpret brands, products, and services based on their interactions, experiences, and impressions. It examines the factors that shape consumer perception, such as advertising, word-of-mouth, packaging, pricing, and brand reputation. It also draws insights from various theoretical models and empirical studies to develop a comprehensive understanding.

Stimulating purchase intention
Stimulating purchase intention

Role of perceived value in consumer’s purchase intentions

Perceived value is the consumer’s assessment of a product’s worth based on its price, quality, and benefits. In contrast to actual value, which is a product’s objective worth, perceived value is subjective and varies from person to person (Akkaya, 2021). It is a subjective judgment that influences purchasing decisions based on their knowledge, experience, and brand evaluation. The value-centric judgment is very personal to consumers where they engage by involving with brands and evaluating their emotional appeal, endorsement values, and alignment within the vogue (Rajagopal, 2017). Consumers often compare a product’s features, benefits, and costs to determine if it provides substantial value for money. When a brand has a strong emotional perception, consumers are often willing to pay a premium for products that offer better quality, unique features, or added benefits (Kovacs and Keresztes, 2022).

EXAMPLE

60% of consumers are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products, even if the cost is higher.

MoneyConytrol, 2024

The way a brand positions itself impacts its perceived value. The emotional value of a consumer is the affective sensations that they have towards a brand’s perceived value, it also shows people’s desire to be part of a community and their purchases to be accepted by their social group. Brand consciousness describes the purchase decision influenced by the reputation of a brand, with consumers preferring a brand that has higher prices, which is considered a sign of quality. Brand consciousness is also influenced by the consumer’s desire to adhere to a social class or confirm their social status (Puiu, 2021). Developing brand consciousness involves consumer education through various means such as advertisements, in-store demonstrations, and social media platforms. Consumer socialization and building self-esteem also contribute to developing positive brand consciousness and purchase intentions. Age is considered a critical variable in acquiring brand knowledge, with older consumers generally highly brand-conscious (Rajagopal, 2017).

Earning trust & credibility by focusing on the emotional perception of the consumer

The emotional perception of a consumer also plays a crucial role in shaping the perceived value of a product or service. Trust and credibility are important emotional factors that drive consumer decision-making and are often used in the marketing mix to persuade consumers. Earning consumers’ trust involves building connections that resonate deeply with their feelings, aspirations, and values. Consumers are sensitive to two forms of communication such as word-of-mouth from other consumers and the other that comes directly from the business such as advertising and media. Consumers often rely on the experiences of others when evaluating the perceived value of a product or service. Trust and credibility are influenced by factors such as brand history, product quality, customer service, and corporate social responsibility (Castro-González, Bande and Fernández-Ferrín, 2021). Brands that are open and honest about their operations, including admitting mistakes as they occur, enjoy more consumer trust.

Consumer septicism is also an important aspect of modern consumer perception (Chaudhary, Sharma and Kalro, 2019). Consumers constantly validate brands based on their perceived knowledge about the quality of products and also trust the co-created information (Rajagopal, 2017). Negative word-of-mouth is very likely to restrain consumers from furthering their decision-making process (Kanagal, 2016). According to a marketing survey conducted by Gartner (2022), 62% of consumers will quit buying from businesses that compromise their products to save money. External stimuli, such as promotions and social media engagement highly influence consumer motivation and decision-making. The influence of opinion leaders and influencers has a direct or indirect impact on the attitudes and decisions of consumers. The degree of influence that influencers have on consumer decision-making, is greatest when buying clothes, shoes, cosmetics, and services. Other factors play a more significant role in purchasing decisions for food, jewellery, and electronics (Zak & Hasprova, 2020).

Consumer interactions on social networks are an important aspect of consumer engagement, as consumers trust information and opinions that are coming from a known person and are more likely to purchase a brand they know or trust (Ozuem et al., 2016). Consistent product quality, open communication, and positive user experience contribute to creating an emotional bond with the consumer (Wang et al., 2022). But, when the consumer is faced with a new, unfamiliar brand, they re-examine their whole choice process unconsciously (Pellémans, 1971). Over time, if a consumer’s experience with a product exceeds or falls short of their expectations, their perception of value also shifts, which will in turn influence the future motivation of purchases.

Stimulating purchase intention through interactivity and engagement

Purchase intention is a consumer’s likelihood of purchasing a product or service. Purchase intention is also driven by factors, including price, product quality, brand reputation, and consumer trust (Yu, 2023). According to Huang (2012), interactivity refers to the degree of control and communication between participants in a virtual environment such as social media platforms. It has two key aspects:

  1. Active control: The ability of participants to choose information and guide their interaction. This allows them to act in a variety of unrestricted ways during their experience, which can enhance their affective and cognitive involvement.
  2. Reciprocal communication: The ability for participants to communicate bilaterally and develop shared symbolic meanings, which can reduce relationship uncertainty and increase liking. This can also positively influence affective involvement, cognitive involvement, and flow experiences. 

Engagement is the degree to which participants are absorbed, focused, and having fun during their interaction. When the interaction experience is intrinsically enjoyable, it can lead to a higher affinity towards the platform. Social identity, which includes cognitive, affective, and evaluative components, strongly and significantly influences users’ online experiences, including affective involvement, cognitive involvement, and engagement. Users with a higher sense of social identity are more likely to be emotionally invested in a platform and have a higher degree of engagement, which in turn positively influences their purchase intentions (Huang, 2012). Engaged consumers are more likely to have a positive opinion of a brand because they have a greater connection and loyalty (Helme-Guizon and Magnoni, 2019). Consumers who are highly engaged with a brand are also more likely to make repeat purchases (APSIS One, 2024).

Social media platforms have emerged as a vital channel for businesses to communicate their brand stories and connect with consumers on an emotional level. As consumers learn about brands and their attributes through experience sharing and interactivity on social networks, it has helped them form value-centric judgments about brands. Consumer engagement in social media activities offers positive cognitive analytics of stand-by decisions that lead to decision reinforcement and indoctrinates consumers to develop positive purchase intentions toward the brands. Additionally, social media platforms enable consumers to share their brand experiences and perceptions, further influencing the knowledge transfer process and consumer decision-making (Rajagopal, 2017). Ozuem et al. (2016b) also mention that social identity plays a key role in influencing consumer involvement and engagement, with affective involvement showing the greatest influence on purchase intention compared to engagement and cognitive involvement. Chetioui et al. (2021) in their study found that perceived advertising value and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) favourably affected consumers’ attitudes towards Facebook advertisements and their purchase intentions in Morocco. Consequently, perceived advertising value and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) positively influence consumers’ attitudes toward Facebook advertisements and purchase intention.

Furthermore, this study has highlighted that perceived value, which is the consumer’s subjective assessment of a product’s worth, plays a crucial role in purchase decisions. Factors such as emotional value, social value, and brand consciousness influence perceived value. Earning consumer trust and credibility through open communication, consistent product quality, and positive user experience can create an emotional bond with the consumer. The study has also underscored the need for businesses to focus on emotional aspects, build trust, and foster interactive and engaging experiences to influence consumer perception and stimulate purchase intentions.

References

NOTES

I am an interdisciplinary educator, researcher, and technologist with over a decade of experience in applied coding, educational design, and research mentorship in fields spanning management, marketing, behavioral science, machine learning, and natural language processing. I specialize in simplifying complex topics such as sentiment analysis, adaptive assessments and data visualizatiion. My training approach emphasizes real-world application, clear interpretation of results and the integration of data mining, processing, and modeling techniques to drive informed strategies across academic and industry domains.

I am a Research Consultant at Project Guru. I hold a Bachelor’s degree from from West Bengal State University. Over 2 years, I have worked on various research projects. I have also performed data analysis using SPSS, AMOS, and NVIVO software for few projects. My core strength lies in in-depth research related to Management, Consumer behaviour, Social science, Helath science, Marketing, Buisness Studies, Arts, and Education fields.

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