Imagery-Text Congruence in Online Commerce: a Processing Fluency Account

This paper addresses effects of congruence among meanings connoted by product picture and product description in online vendor sites on consumer response. Based on processing fluency accounts, it is argued that congruence increases processing fluency, in turn positively affecting product attitude. Since integration of meanings requires elaborate processing, it was predicted that this effect would be most pronounced for participants high in need for cognition. To test this prediction, an experimental study was conducted in which congruence among meanings connoted by hotel appearance and hotel description was manipulated. Results were in line with our predictions, and provide insight in consumers’ online decision making.

Citation:

Thomas Van Rompay, Peter De Vries, and Ad Pruyn (2009) ,"Imagery-Text Congruence in Online Commerce: a Processing Fluency Account", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 36, eds. Ann L. McGill and Sharon Shavitt, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 541-542.