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Organized product recommendations while shopping online can change whether or not people buy a product, according to a new study from the University of California, San Diego.

The results of the study were published in the journal “Frontiers in Neuroscience”.

The study by Uma R. Karmarkar, an assistant professor at the Rady School of Management and the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego, found that the articles displayed belonging to the same category as the target product, like a board game combined with other board games, increase the chances of purchasing a target product.

On the other hand, consumers are less likely to buy the target product if it does not correspond to products in different categories, for example, a board game presented with kitchen knives.

The study used eye-tracking – a sensor technology that lets you know where a person is looking – to examine how different types of displays influenced visual attention.

Study participants reviewed their target product for the same amount of time when paired with similar articles or articles from different categories; however, buyers spent more time looking at the mismatched products, even though they were only supposed to be there “for display”.

“What’s surprising is that when I asked people how much they liked the target products, their preferences didn’t change between display settings,” Karmarkar said.

“The results show that it’s not about how much you like or dislike the item you are looking at, but rather your process of purchasing the item,” Karmarkar explained.

“The surrounding display elements don’t seem to change the attention you pay to the target product, but they can influence your decision to buy it or not,” Karmarkar added.

Karmarkar, with a doctorate in consumer behavior and neuroscience, said the findings suggest that seeing similar options on the page reinforces the idea for consumers that they are making the right decision to buy a item that corresponds to the category displayed.

“When the information doesn’t match, it changes the scope of the decision. Incompatible display is like shopping in a store with more variety,” she said.

“You may want to consider a featured board game, but if you can see other products to purchase, that board game might not be the first type of purchase you want to make. Incompatible items attract more attention and compete with the category you are considering. She added.

The study involved 58 participants, aged 18 to 40, who had to make 36 online shopping decisions for real products with real money.

The results showing differences in purchase rates replicate a set of studies published by Karmarkar in 2017. In the new research, she was able to measure which parts of the display were getting more or less attention.

Additionally, the next article shows that paired displays increase buy rates even when they include more eye-catching information like price details.

Karmarkar spoke with industry experts on product recommendation systems, which shaped his approach to these issues.

Recommendation algorithms can have different designs to meet the respective goals of various retailers.

Products can be displayed with “mismatch” displays when retailers use cross-promotion tactics based on past customer behavior or on inventory they may wish to sell faster.

The sample board game that Karmarkar often uses is based on a real-life experience she had while shopping online during the month of October.

“I had been browsing games like ‘Bananagrams’ and when I reloaded the product page, a display of Halloween costumes popped up,” she said.

“Based on my search history, the store probably felt I had a family. So while I’m sure they wanted me to buy the game, they also knew they had an active buyer who might be interested in Halloween costumes that were due to be sold by the end of the month, ”she added.

“It sounds like a win-win, but our work suggests that creating this inconsistent situation could have reduced the chances of me adding the game to my basket,” she explained.

While the study is helpful for online retailers to learn about the benefits of displaying same-category options on a specific product page, the research is also valuable to consumers.

“It shows how outside forces shape our decisions in ways we might not recognize. If a buyer is looking for something specific, they are likely to focus their attention, regardless of recommendation displays,” she said. declared.

“But when people are just ‘browsing things online,’ different page designs can create different patterns of attention. In-store displays can change what we choose, even if they don’t change what we like. “, she concluded.

As the e-commerce sector grows in India, the value of the e-commerce market in the country could reach $ 40 billion by 2030, according to a report by global consulting firm Kearney.

86% of Indian shoppers believe that retailers need to improve to deliver the products, services and experience they expect from online shopping …