Consumer Research: Pretty Things Make Us Buy More

Source: Science Daily

New research shows that a seemingly innocent luxury item purchase can lead to an unintended, budget-busting spending spree. The problem starts with the purchase of a new item, particularly those among designer product lines, luxury branded items, or consumer goods of high-end design. Once home, these items -- graced with what researchers call salient design elements, such as a unique pattern or interesting color scheme -- can look out of place when compared to other possessions. The most obvious solution to this aesthetic mismatch would be to return the item to the store. 

But instead of making a return, consumers who were surveyed said they would make more purchases in an effort to try to surround their designer purchase with other luxury items and restore aesthetic harmony, according to marketing professors Vanessa Patrick of the University of Houston and Henrik Hagtvedt of Boston College, whose study is forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing Research.  READ MORE HERE