Virtual Shopping Guides Boost Sales

Newswise — Avatars, virtual online characters designed to simulate human interactions, can enhance shoppers' enjoyment and lead to increased sales. But they may not be as useful for familiar, low cost, utilitarian products.

That's the indication from two studies of consumer reactions to the use of avatars as "shopping guides" on websites. The research is summarized in a paper, "Can a Retail Website Be Social?" to appear in the July 2007 issue of the Journal of Marketing.

"The answer to the question asked by the title of our paper is definitely yes," says Dr. Julie Baker, professor of marketing at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. "Avatars are just beginning to be used on retail websites. We found that online retailers can get good results with avatars, but with thoughtful use."

This is good news for retailers, who pour billions of dollars into online marketing, and suggests an effective new way to grab customers' attention.

The study, by Dr. Baker of TCU, Dr. Liz C. Wang of the University of Dallas in Texas, Dr. Judy Wagner of East Carolina University in North Carolina, and Dr. Kirk Wakefield of Baylor University in Texas, is the first to examine consumer reactions to website avatars serving as shopping guides to help users navigate the sites.

"Online customers often miss the type of human connection they have with sales personnel in brick-and-mortar stores," Dr. Baker says. "On a website, just the existence of a virtual character serving as a shopping guide can increase shoppers' intentions to purchase by increasing their positive emotions."

When an avatar behaves in a seemingly "social" manner by employing specific social cues, customers are likely to behave as if the guide were a live person. This holds true even for the most computer-savvy users, and is due to an ingrained response from people when an invitation to social interaction is extended to them, even if by a character on a computer screen.

The four social cues studied were written language, spoken language, interactivity with users, and serving in a role (in this case, that of shopping guide).

"Can a Retail Website Be Social?" reports on two investigations. The first examined reactions to a lab-created website about Caribbean travel, both with a graphically designed avatar and without. Participants were 333 undergraduates at a large southwestern university, most of whom were experienced online shoppers. This first study looked at whether an avatar could increase users' perceptions that the site was social. If so, did those perceptions lead to heightened pleasure and interest, resulting in enhanced "flow," enjoyment value, utilitarian value, and intent to purchase?

Flow is a state reached when users become absorbed in an activity. It was found that both flow and pleasure have positive influences on the enjoyment value (called "hedonic value") of the website and its utilitarian value as a tool toward achieving a goal. Both hedonic and utilitarian values were found to strongly influence intent to buy.

The second investigation, designed to verify and broaden the results of the first, used a real website for custom window blinds, a utilitarian item. The 250 participants were homeowners from across the nation, divided into three age groups (21-35, 36-50, and 50+). The majority were experienced online shoppers.

The second investigation largely supported the results of the first. It also revealed that pleasure was increased only for those with an actual interest in the product. Women enjoyed themselves more than did men. While utilitarian value led to patronage for all age groups, older participants found less utilitarian value in the site and were less likely to buy. This latter result was unexpected, and the authors recommend further research.

"We found strong and consistent evidence throughout the two studies that social cues provided by website avatars produce user perceptions that the Websites are more 'social,' and that those perceptions have a significant positive influence. Those are key findings, and it didn't matter if the avatar was a graphic character or a video of a real person," says Dr. Baker.

Avatars, however, should be used carefully. For example, they must not be annoyingly intrusive. "Our avatars appeared on the home page and several other major pages, but not on every page. You can't have them popping up everywhere," says Dr. Baker.

Avatars also should appeal to target customer groups and be appropriate for the product or service. For instance, a "teenager" avatar hawking financial services likely wouldn't be well received.

Some websites may even be inappropriate venues for avatars. "Buyers of low-cost, familiar, utilitarian products may feel intruded upon and that the avatar is impeding their purchasing goals," Dr. Baker explains.

More study is needed to test avatars with different products, services, consumer demographics, and social cues, says Dr. Baker. A more thorough understanding of the effective use of avatars will help retailers maximize website resources and see greater value for their marketing dollars.