An Eye Tracking Study of the Effect of Sensory and Price In-Store Displays

Using eye tracking, this chapter investigates if the visual attention varies according to the in-store displays message content (price, sensory, and price-sensory). Results show that participants are more responsive to cognitive content messages (price) than affective messages (sensory) alone. Nevertheless, it is demonstrated that participants are prone to devote more time processing in-store displays messages if prices (cognitive stimuli) are combined with sensory messages (affective stimuli), which increases the likelihood of choosing low involvement products. Finally, it was demonstrated that total fixation duration is predictive of low involvement product choice for all home décor products. This study suggests that shoppers might spend more time and effort searching for low involvement products if in-store displays captivate their visual attention and elicit their sensory imagery. Sensory messages can be used by retailers to highlight product intrinsic characteristics. At the same time, they are inducing positive feelings towards low-involvement products.