Abstract: Product appearance is one of the key attributes that determines a product’s market success.Previous studies have mainly focused on the dimension of aesthetics and found its positive effect on product evaluation.This effect occurs partially because a more aesthetically pleasing design indicates more efforts the firm has devoted to the product,which is appreciated by consumers and thus increases their product evaluations.Our research extends this line of work by examining the dimension of complexity in utilitarian product appearance design.We propose that although a more complex design also indicates more efforts,it may decrease product evaluation by inducing consumer inferences that the firm has devoted more to product appearance and thus less to the product’s key attributes.These inferences reduce the perceived quality of the product and consequently product preference.

We tested our hypotheses with six studies.Study 1 comprised two experiments testing the main effect of design complexity on product preference.In both studies,a single factor (product design:simple vs.complex) between-subjects design was used,and participants were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions.Participants were shown an image of a simple or a complex design product and asked to indicate their preferences for the product.In addition,the participants were asked to rate the quality of the product.In line with our expectations,the complex-designed product received a lower preference rating than the simple-designed product.Moreover,the main effect was mediated by participants’ perceptions of product quality,such that when they viewed the complex-designed (vs.simple-designed) product,they inferred the product’s quality to be inferior,and thereby lowering their preferences for the product.Study 2 adopted the same experimental design as study 1,and used USB flash drives as stimulus for generalizability.After participants reported their preferences for the complex-designed versus the simple-designed product,we also measured their perceptions of product quality and their inferences about the firm’s effort in the product’s key attributes.The results replicated the finding of study 1,such that participants preferred the complex-designed USB flash drive less than the simple-designed one.In addition,we found that this effect was sequentially mediated by inferences about the firm’s efforts (mediator 1) and perceptions of product quality (mediator 2).Study 3 used two separate experiments to test the moderating role of consumer mindset (i.e.,zero-sum mindset) in the proposed effect.Specifically,study 3A adopted a 2 (product design:simple vs.complex)×2 (mindset:zero-sum vs.non-zero-sum) between-subjects design,and participants were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions.We first presented participants with a USB flash drive that had either a simple or complex appearance design.Then,based on prior research,we manipulated participants’ mindsets by telling them that a firm’s resources allocated to product appearance design and key attributes were non-competitive (i.e.,non-zero-sum condition) or competitive (i.e.,zero-sum condition).After that,participants evaluated the quality of the USB drive.The results indicated a significant interaction between appearance design and consumer mindset on product quality perception.As predicted,participants primed to hold a zero-sum mindset perceived the complex-designed USB as lower in product quality than those with a simple complex appearance design.However,this effect diminished when participants were primed to hold a non-zero-sum mindset.In study 3B,we manipulated consumer mindset as a between-subjects factor and asked participants to make a choice between a simple-and a complex-designed product,followed by a measure of their inferences about the firm’s resource allocation.The results supported the moderating effect of consumer mindset,so that participants holding a stronger zero-sum belief inferred that the firm had allocated fewer resources to key attributes of the product with a complex design and thus preferred the product less.Study 4 tested the moderating role of firm size.This study used a single factor (firm size:small vs.large) between-subjects design.We manipulated firm size by informing participants that the product was made by a small or a large company.Then participants were presented with a complex-designed and a simple-designed product,and asked to indicate their preferences.We found a significant impact of firm size such that the higher preference for the simple-designed over the complex-designed product decreased with the firm size.

This work contributes to the research streams on product design,zero-sum mindset,and cue utilization theory.In addition,our findings provide actionable suggestions for companies on when to adopt simple appearance designs to promote their products.