Interesting Results
What Makes People Try New Products?
Getting consumers to try new products is very important to the companies that launch them, and there is a long history of research into factors that influence new product trial. The factors that have been investigated include characteristics of individual consumers, product category characteristics, the intensity of marketing communications used to support the new product, and other aspects of the marketing strategy for the new product. Recent research suggests that it’s important to look at these factors in combination rather than independently. For example, previous research has found that consumers vary in terms of their innovativeness and more innovative consumers are more likely to try new products; however, this new study, which examined trial of a range of consumer packaged goods, showed that the strength of this effect varies according to product category and marketing strategy: The association between innovativeness and new product trial is stronger for products that are more novel or are in categories likely to be purchased on impulse. It’s also stronger for higher-priced products and products that are the subject of features and displays. Advertising expenditure, on the other hand, weakens the association between innovativeness and new product trial.