Buyers Like Technical Specification

It’s been long established that consumers are more willing to buy a product when more information is available. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research confirms that consumers choose products with more technical specifications offered.

In a series of five studies asking participants to choose between two kinds of products ranging from digital cameras and cell phones to towels and potato chips, study participants across the board chose the product with the most specifications.

They did so even when the specifications offered little to no additional information. All that detail, though, didn’t have an effect on the product experience after purchase, so while offering more information seems to directly influence buying, a merchant in business for the long term will have to back up his products.

The results make sense under various theoretical frameworks, especially Uncertainty Reduction Theory. Under this framework, consumers (and people in general) continuously seek information to assuage their anxieties, solidify beliefs, and justify their decisions.

For web marketers, the implications are pretty straightforward: The more information you offer a perspective customer, the more likely that customer will buy from you over the competition.