November 16, 2005
Own brand shopping:
Research published last year showed people are more likely to marry others whose names resemble their own. Now researchers in Paris have shown this egocentric bias extends to shopping - apparently, in certain circumstances, we're also more likely to buy products with brand names that share letters with our own name.
The researchers said "We found that name letter branding influences choices only under one of two conditions. Either consumers have a need to enhance their self-esteem because of a threatening situation. For instance, a sophisticated restaurant could pose such a threat. Or consumers have to have a product relevant need (for example, being thirsty when choosing a beverage)".
Link to Journal of Consumer Research (study out in December issue).
Link to abstract of research on picking marriage partners (p. 665).
