To Add Or Not to Add? the Effects of Add-Ons on Product Evaluation

The research presented in this paper provides evidence that “add-ons” offered to enhance a base product can be more than just simple added benefits. We argue that consumers can make inferences based on add-ons and that these inferences lead to changes in the perceived utility of the core product itself. We further argue that there are two types of add-ons, vertical and horizontal, and that these two types lead to different inferences with opposing effects on overall evaluations. A set of experiments supports the general framework presented. From a prescriptive standpoint, our findings highlight the need for marketers to be more attentive in how they manage add-ons as part of their product strategy.



Citation:

Marco Bertini, Elie Ofek, and Dan Ariely (2007) ,"To Add Or Not to Add? the Effects of Add-Ons on Product Evaluation", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 34, eds. Gavan Fitzsimons and Vicki Morwitz, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 163.

Authors

Marco Bertini, London Business School
Elie Ofek, Harvard Business School
Dan Ariely, MIT Sloan School of Management



Volume

NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 34 | 2007



Share Proceeding

Featured papers

See More

Featured

Pursue Your Passions: Cultural Discourses about Consumer’s Heroic Wilderness Adventures

Nathan Warren, University of Oregon, USA
Linda L Price, University of Oregon, USA

Read More

Featured

From Novice to Know-it-All: How Google-Based Financial Learning Affects Financial Confidence and Decisions

Adrian Ward, University of Texas at Austin, USA
Tito L. H. Grillo, University of Texas at Austin, USA
Philip M. Fernbach, University of Colorado, USA

Read More

Featured

Consumer Response to Innovations: The Differential Effects of Focused and Defocused Attention on Perceived Novelty, Usefulness and Symbolism

Katarina Hellén, Univeristy of Vaasa
Maria Sääksjärvi, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

Read More

Engage with Us

Becoming an Association for Consumer Research member is simple. Membership in ACR is relatively inexpensive, but brings significant benefits to its members.