Anthropomorphism Is Not Always A Marketing Panacea: How Anthropomorphism Shapes Product Durability Perception.

Abstract

This research examined anthropomorphism as a marketing tool in the new paradigms of green and online merchandising. Two experiments tested how product anthropomorphism affects consumers' product durability perception. Study 1 demonstrated that anthropomorphic design had a significant effect on reducing a product’s durability perception due to its greater perceived performance risk. Importantly, this research reveals an important boundary condition for the negative effect of anthropomorphism on perceived durability and performance risk. Study 2 demonstrated the moderating role of consumers' green consumption attitudes, where individuals with lower green consumption attitudes perceiving anthropomorphised products to have greater perceived performance risk and lesser durability than non-anthropomorphised products. These studies produced clear and significant outcomes that can be utilised in both theoretical and managerial implications. Therefore, although most extant research has shown that anthropomorphism enhances consumers' perceptions of a product, the current research demonstrates that anthropomorphising a product or its promotion can become a detrimental marketing strategy when aiming to project durability.