An Examination of the Relationship Between Visualization Media and Consumer Product Evaluation

Abstract

Virtual product presentations that rely on static images and text are often insufficient to communicate all the information that is necessary to accurately evaluate a product. Technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR) have enabled more sophisticated representation methods, but certain product characteristics are difficult to assess and may result in perceptual differences when a product is evaluated in different visual media. In this paper, we report two case studies in which a group of participants evaluated three designs of two product typologies (i.e., a desktop telephone and a coffee maker) as presented in three different visual media (i.e., photorealistic renderings, AR, and VR for the first case study; and photographs, a non-immersive virtual environment, and AR for the second case study) using eight semantic scales. An inferential statistical method using Aligned Rank Transform (ART) proceedings was applied to determine perceptual differences between groups. Our results show that in both cases product attributes in Jordan's physio-pleasure category are the most affected by the presentation media. The socio-pleasure category was also affected for the case of the coffee makers. The level of immersion afforded by the medium significantly affects product evaluation.

Consumer Subjective Impressions in Virtual Reality Environments: The Role of the Visualization Technique in Product Evaluation

“…In A1, the semantic scales "Light-Heavy" and "Stable-Unstable" were influenced by the visual display for three of the four watering can models (Table 8), while in A2, the two-factor ANOVA (Table 12) showed a combined effect between product design and the medium used to present it, which may explain why some designs did not show perceptual differences for those features, according to Palacios-Ibáñez et al [3]. Additionally, in the case of weight, brightness may have affected size perception, as brighter objects often appear larger and closer to the user [49].…”

“…Generally, these studies presented a significant limitation: the evaluation of a single product, which makes it difficult to extrapolate their conclusions to an entire type of product [18]. In this context, Palacios-Ibáñez et al carried out similar studies by increasing the number of alternatives [3,36]. The authors corroborate that product features such as size (Large-Small) or weight (Heavy-Light) are susceptible to being affected by the visualization technique, but characteristics associated with the aesthetics of the product can also be influenced by the medium depending on the type of product.…”

“…Different key factors can help to ensure the success of a product apart from aesthetics [1], such as a strong market orientation, a clear and compelling product concept, a well-designed development process, and its evaluation, especially during the early stages of the design process [2]. In this context, ensuring a precise perception of a product's features is crucial to guarantee an accurate evaluation of it [3]. The increasing competitiveness of the market is causing traditional forms of interaction with the product to be replaced by digital means [4], and the way that products are presented is becoming increasingly important for the optimization of the design process.…”

Predicting Decision-Making in Virtual Environments: An Eye Movement Analysis with Household Products

“…In this regard, achieving similar results between 2D and 3D media may raise questions about the efficacy of VR in evaluating decision-making processes, as presenting stimuli in an immersive VR environment may require a greater investment of time and resources compared to the use of 2D images. However, some research has demonstrated that perceptual differences exist when displaying products using different visualization techniques [28][29][30], differences which may be minimized through the use of more sophisticated visualization techniques given its ability to convey more information than basic representations such as images [31,32]. Therefore, the observation that similar effects are manifest in virtual environments represents a significant improvement in the evaluation process of a range of products, since the feedback provided by users will be more accurate and comparable to the evaluation of the real product.…”