VISUAL BIASING EFFECTS: EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF ONLINE PRODUCT VISUALS ON USER BEHAVIOR AND BIASED PROCESSING OF CUSTOMER REVIEWS

Abstract

The current study investigates the phenomenon of visual biasing effects, exploring how the visual characteristics of a product in digital environments influence consumers' beliefs, attitudes, and information-seeking behaviors. In this research we created a linear progression of visual stimuli by combining package design (plain vs. attractive) and image clarity (low vs. high resolution), ranging from the worst (plain package design with low image resolution) to the best (attractive package design with high image resolution) visual condition. Through three experiments involving 974 participants, we examined how these progressively enhanced product visuals impact dependent variables such as perceived product quality, seller credibility, brand attitudes, and confirmation bias. The results of one-way ANOVAs confirmed that as product visuals become richer, inferential beliefs about product quality and seller credibility, brand attitudes, and selective exposure to customer reviews also increase. Path analyses revealed the mediating processes that underpin these visual biasing effects. The findings demonstrate that the relationship between a product's visual appearance and users' biased processing of customer reviews is mediated by their newly-formed beliefs and brand attitudes about the product. This study highlights that even a single exposure to a product with distinctive visual appeal can induce confirmation biases, manifesting in selective information exposure and biased interpretation of online reviews. These insights are particularly pertinent for practitioners in digital marketing and e-commerce, offering strategies to optimize consumer engagement and information processing in online shopping contexts.