Quest Academy
knowledge that will take you further

 

Emotions are prominent in influencing purchase, continued usage intention, value-in-use, satisfaction, trust, and loyalty [i][ii]. Many brands and manufacturers are using emotions in their advertisements to achieve communication goals and to influence consumer purchase decisions. Nevertheless, there are various forms of emotional appeals that can be used, such as happiness and gratitude. Which emotional appeal (happiness or gratitude) is more effective?

 

In a recent study [iii], to examine which type of emotional appeal could be more effective, self-made products were used as a context. Self-made products are products where consumers earnestly engage in the design or even manufacturing process [iv]. Self-made was chosen as a context because many retailers (e.g., Build-a-Bear, IKEA and Home Depot) and brands (e.g., NikeID, Lego, CafePress, YouBar) push their consumers to be co-creators in the creation of their products (e.g., building, designing, customizing, etc.) [v].

​

Happiness and Gratitude

​

Happiness is a mixture of universal life satisfaction and positive affect that appears as a generic response to pleasant circumstances [vi]. Meanwhile, gratitude is a positive emotion that materializes after people obtain support, which is perceived as costly, beneficial, and magnanimous [vii].

​

When individuals encounter positive outcomes due to external circumstances, they will experience happiness, whilst gratitude will be elicited when they ascribe the positive outcomes to elements being controlled by others. Typically, individuals experience being grateful when they ascribe their positive results or personal achievements to others, rather than to themselves alone [viii].

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

The studies and results

​

The results of their first study show that gratitude appeal, compared to neutral appeal, poses a stronger effect on consumer’s click through behavior of self-made products. Furthermore, the second study confirms that gratitude effect, compared to happiness and no-appeal, have stronger influence on purchase intention for self-made products. The second study also provides confirmation that the influence of gratitude appeal is stronger for self-made products rather than pre-made products.

 

Gratitude appeal is more effective than happiness appeal in increasing purchase intention of self-made products. This type of appeal has greater potential in increasing consumers’ purchase intentions for self-made products than for pre-made ones that have no customization. Thus, advertisers should reconsider only embedding happiness appeal in their advertisements since gratitude appeal shows greater potential, particularly for self-made products.

 

References

[i] Molinillo, S., Navarro-García, A., Anaya-Sánchez, R., & Japutra, A. (2020). The impact of affective and cognitive app experiences on loyalty towards retailers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 54, 101948.

[ii] Japutra, A., Utami, A. F., Molinillo, S., & Ekaputra, I. A. (2021). Influence of customer application experience and value in use on loyalty toward retailers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 59, 102390.

[iii] Japutra, A., Septianto, F., & Can, A. S. (2022). Feeling grateful versus happy? The effects of emotional appeals in advertisements on self-made products. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 69, 103091.

[iv] Diefenbach, S., Jung, S., Diller, T., Franze, C., & Maciejczyk, S. (2018). The secret of self-made: The potential of different types of consumer participation for product attachment and commercial value. Social Sciences, 7(4), 52.

[v] Septianto, F. (2021). Every ending is a new beginning: Poignancy increases consumer preferences for self-made products. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 38(3), 732-748.

[vi] Diener, E. (2016). Happiness Is a Virtue–Good for You and Good for the World. In: Sternberg, R. J., Fiske, S. T., Foss, D. J. (Eds), Scientists making a difference: One hundred eminent behavioral and brain scientists talk about their most important contributions. Cambridge University, New York, NY, pp. 345-348.

[vii] Wood, A. M., Maltby, J., Stewart, N., Linley, P. A., & Joseph, S. (2008). A social-cognitive model of trait and state levels of gratitude. Emotion, 8(2), 281-290.

[viii] Soscia, I. (2007). Gratitude, delight, or guilt: The role of consumers' emotions in predicting postconsumption behaviors. Psychology & Marketing, 24(10), 871-894.