Knowing how consumers perceive and react to information is an important factor to understanding the purchase-decision-making process and can have significant
marketing implications. Not only do consumers often make brand choices based on aesthetic value and distinctiveness of visual design, but visual information can also help to distinguish a particular product from its competition. Providing information directly to
the consumer, such as detailing how a product is made or prepared, or explaining how much it costs, can have an effect on numerous consumer behavior variables such as brand loyalty, product involvement, and usage behavior (Bloch, Brunel, & Arnold 2003).
Many fundamental studies examining the effects of verbal and visual information on the formation of attitude have been conducted in the context of media marketing and television advertising (Hirschman, 1986). Results have been shown to be fairly
inconclusive as to the direct effect that visual and verbal messaging has on brand perception and the formation of brand attitudes, and certain areas are still unexplored. Hirschman (1986) identified three dimensions on which attitudinal and perceptional responses were based: utilitarian or rational perceptions, aesthetic or emotional
perceptions, and familiarity perceptions. In a test that controlled for moderating factors by testing advertising content in the same way but through different stimuli, Hirschman (1986) was able to support findings from previous literature which concluded that the visual portion of an advertisement is able to evoke a direct influence upon consumers' affective judgments towards a product.
The way consumers perceive and react to visual stimulation can be complicated and hard to measure. Bloch et al. (2003) attempted to address this particular phenomenon through the development of a scale designed to measure individual differences in visual product aesthetics, referred to as centrality of visual product aesthetics or CVPA. It was concluded that CVPA encompassed four related dimensions: “1) the value a consumer assigns to product appearances in enhancing personal and even societal well-being, 2) acumen, or the ability to recognize, categorize, or evaluate product designs, 3) the level of response to visual design aspects of products, and 4) the determinancy of visual
aesthetics in affecting product preferences and purchase satisfaction” (Bloch et al., 2003, p. 552). Ultimately, this tool proved to be a valid and reliable method to accurately measure consumers’ responses to various visual stimuli.
Consumer research that focuses on cognitive and emotional response to visual and aesthetic product information or marketing stimuli can take many directions. One area in particular that relates to the retail service industry and hospitality is semiotics, or the study of signs and symbols as main components to communicative behavior (Mick, 1986). In a retail or service environment, signage can work as the primary vehicle for connecting the surrounding objects to human reactions. This process of displaying and viewing signs can act as a mechanism for creating, maintaining and altering meaning (Mick, 1986). In a restaurant, the menu and menu signage function as the primary method for delivering information to the consumer.
In a physical shopping environment, the atmosphere, which includes signage and other visual displays of information, can directly affect consumer emotions and their purchase behavior. These responses are thought to be mediated by cognition. In a study seeking to address the managerial implications regarding an alteration of visual stimuli to increase consumers’ shopping behaviors and the processes by which digital signage influences perception of a mall environment, Dennis, Newman, Michon, Josko, Brakus, and Wright (2010) tested emotion-cognition theories by looking at the influence of digital signage on cognition and emotion. Digital signage was shown to have a direct influence on perception of the mall environment and positive affect, significantly influencing consumers’ shopping behavior. Influence of signage on consumers’ behavior was also
mediated by the consumers’ perceptions of the surrounding mall environment and their emotions.
Research has also explored consumer response to product packaging and labeling. In one study, Rokka and Uusitalo (2008) used every-day drink products to test whether or not products packaged and labeled with green attributes would affect consumer choice when compared to identical products that did not have green packaging or labeling. Using an internet questionnaire, respondents were shown different product options with
different packaging attributes and then asked to evaluate and choose the product that they would most likely purchase. Results indicated that product packagingwas an important attribute for consumer choice, and that respondents clearly preferred the environmentally- friendly package alternative over the non-environmentally-friendly labeled product.
Comparatively, Onozaka and McFadden (2011) looked at the interactive effects of sustainable production claims such as organic, fair trade, or green, and location claims on perceived value conducted through a conjoint analysis. Building off of research that has shown consumers value product attributes that highlight where and how a product was produced, it was found that consumers do differentiate some production claims to a further extent if there was information on production location provided. Some
consumers’ perceived local to be a higher quality product, but preference for local went beyond simple product quality and included support for both the local economy and small farmers. A significant number of consumers were willing to pay a premium for the
sustainable product claim of a reduced carbon footprint. Overall, the general consensus is that the more information a consumer has about a certain product or service, the more likely they are to purchase, pay more, and/or revisit.
Information about a product or a service can be delivered in several formats, and can range widely from the information contained on a product label and other marketing tools, such as advertisements, signage, company/product websites or portfolios, to prior/existing knowledge about a product (Cowley & Mitchell, 2003; Rao & Monroe, 1988; Srinivasan & Agrawal, 1988). Within a foodservice or food-retail setting, product information can include information about the establishment such as type, theme, and price, as well as the products being served. There are two primary means for foodservice operators to transmit information: via the store’s atmospherics or the servicescape, and visual stimuli such as signage, menus, and product labeling. The next section focuses specifically on the topic of the menu in more detail.