The Effect of Product-Level Standards of Comparison on Consumer Satisfaction

Abstract

Consumer satisfaction with a product is usually modeled relative to other brands. Yet a large body of research shows that product evaluation often includes both brand and product-level comparisons. Furthermore, theory in consumer behavior and psychology suggests that product-level comparisons might occur in forming satisfaction judgments. An empirical study demonstrates that including product-level standards of comparison in a model of satisfaction significantly increased the amount of explained variance.   Additional   exploratory   evidence suggests that product-level standards of comparison may be more important for non-necessary items such as home improvements and furnishings, sports equipment, kitchen gadgets, musical instruments, and hobby equipment.