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Shivering for Status: When Cold Temperatures Increase Product Evaluation
Author(s) -
Park Jaewoo,
Hadi Rhonda
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of consumer psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.433
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1532-7663
pISSN - 1057-7408
DOI - 10.1002/jcpy.1133
Subject(s) - perception , product (mathematics) , marketing , association (psychology) , shivering , linkage (software) , business , psychology , advertising , mathematics , chemistry , medicine , biochemistry , geometry , anesthesia , neuroscience , psychotherapist , gene
While anecdotal evidence suggests that consumers maintain an association between high‐status products and cold temperature, no research has empirically examined this linkage. We propose and demonstrate that physical cold can indeed increase consumers’ perceptions of a product's status signaling and luxuriousness. We demonstrate this consequence can stem from tactile or visually induced temperatures and ultimately increase consumers’ overall evaluations of products. Finally, we highlight boundary conditions for when the effect is likely to manifest. Our findings offer theoretical contributions along with several practical implications for retailing, product design, brand management, and marketing communications.