How anxiety -- and hope -- can drive new product adoption

Date:
August 12, 2020
Source:
American Marketing Association
Summary:
When considering new products, anxiety creates approach response
(i.e., interest, purchase) rather than avoidance response (i.e.,
disinterest, failure to purchase) when consumers hope for the
goal-congruent outcomes.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers from University of New South Wales, University of Southern California, and Imperial College London published a new paper in the
Journal of Marketing that analyzes how varying levels of hope and anxiety
about outcomes from new products affect consequential adoption intentions
and actual product adoption.


==========================================================================
The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled "Strong
Anxiety Boosts New Product Adoption When Hope Is Also Strong" and is
authored by Yu- Ting Lin, Deborah J. MacInnis, and Andreas B. Eisingerich.

New products offer consumers the opportunity to create positive outcomes
that are congruent with the goals they hope to achieve. However, because
they are new and untried, new products might also create anxiety about
outcomes that are incongruent with consumers' goals. The research team demonstrates that strong anxiety about outcomes from a new product
actually enhances (vs. weakens) consequential adoption intentions toward
and actual adoption of that new product when hope is also strong. Lin
explains that "We show that this effect occurs because strong hope and
strong anxiety motivate individuals to engage in action planning -- that
is, to contemplate actions that support the occurrence of hoped-for
outcomes and actions that avoid the occurrence of anxiety-arousing
ones." Action planning boosts new product adoption by enhancing consumers' perceived control over outcomes from new product adoption. These findings
aid marketers in understanding how emotions like hope and anxiety can
affect new product adoption. They also aid policymakers by suggesting
that disclaimers that make consumers anxious about potentially negative outcomes from new product purchase or usage could encourage thoughtful processing in the form of action planning when hope is also strong.

Specifically, if market research reveals that consumers already have
strong anxiety about outcomes from new product adoption, marketing communications should emphasize the product's relevance to the goals
that consumers hope for, as opposed to downplaying consumers' anxiety
about potential adverse outcomes.

Conversely, if market research reveals that consumers have strong hope
for the product but low anxiety, the results suggest that marketers might benefit by providing warning labels, disclaimers, and disclosures. Beyond encouraging new product adoption, such communications could also enhance product satisfaction.

MacInnis adds, "In other words, to the extent that consumers consider
goal- incongruent outcomes and plan for how they can be avoided, they
may ultimately be more satisfied with the product than would consumers
who never considered potential anxiety-evoking outcomes or engaged in
action planning." Relatedly, and from a public policy perspective, the findings suggest that disclosures or labels that evoke strong anxiety
about goal-incongruent outcomes from new product use might encourage more thoughtful decision making when hope is also strong. Whereas marketers
may be loath to use such disclaimers, this research suggests that when
a new product evokes strong levels of hope, anxiety-inducing disclosures
might not harm, and could potentially help, new product adoption.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by American_Marketing_Association. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Yu-Ting Lin, Deborah J. MacInnis, Andreas B. Eisingerich. Strong
Anxiety
Boosts New Product Adoption When Hope Is Also Strong. Journal of
Marketing, 2020; 84 (5): 60 DOI: 10.1177/0022242920934495 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200812094908.htm

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