Experiential attributes and consumer judgments

Traditionally, marketers have focused on functional and meaningful product differentiation and have shown that such differentiation is important because consumers engage in a deliberate reasoning process (Chernev, 2001; Shafir et al., 1993; Simonson, 1989). However, nowadays products in many categories are functionally highly similar, and it is difficult for consumers to differentiate products based on functional attributes. An alternative way of differentiating is to emphasize non-functional product characteristics or certain aspects of the judgment context. For example, the VW New Beetle brand has used unique colors and shapes very prominently. Apple Computers has used a smiley face that appeared on the screen of computers when they were powered up as well as translucent colors to differentiate, for example, its iMac and iPod lines from competitive products. In addition, Apple Computers has integrated the colors and shapes of the product design with the design of its websites and the so-called AppleStores. Similar approaches focusing on colors, shapes or affective stimuli have been used for other global brands as well and for local brands in all sorts of product categories, including commodities like water and salt. Here we refer to such attributes, which have emerged in marketing as key differentiators, as ‘experiential attributes’ (Schmitt, 1999). Specifically, experiential attributes consist of non-verbal stimuli that include sensory cues such as colors (Bellizzi et al., 1983; Bellizzi and Hite, 1992; Degeratu et al., 2000; Gorn et al., 1997; Meyers-Levy and Peracchio, 1995) and shapes (Veryzer and Hutchinson, 1998) as well as affective cues such as mascots that may appear on products, packaging or contextually as part of ads (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982; Keller, 1987). Experiential attributes are also used in logos (Henderson et al., 2003), and as part of the judgment context, for example, as backgrounds on websites (Mandel and Johnson, 2002) and in shopping environments (Spies et al., 1997). Unlike functional attributes, experiential attributes are not utilitarian (Zeithaml, 1988). Instead, experiential attributes may result in positive ‘feelings and experiences’ (Schwarz and Clore, 1996; Winkielman et al., 2003). Yet, how exactly do consumers process experiential attributes? How can consumers use them to reach a decision among alternatives? Moreover, are there different ways of processing experiential attributes? In this chapter, we examine how experiential attributes are processed and how they are of value in consumer decision-making. We distinguish two ways of processing experiential features: deliberate processing, which is similar to the way functional attributes are processed, and fluent processing, which occurs without much deliberation. We identify judgment contexts in which consumers process experiential