What women want? How contextual product displays influence women's online shopping behavior

A lack of touch and feel options inhibits online purchases; to enhance online product presentations, this study suggests a potential influence of rich contextual product displays, relative to plain white backgrounds. The results of five studies reveal that the product usage context influences purchase intentions among female customers. Women and men differ in their decision-making processes and evaluate different attributes and benefits prior to purchase. Displaying a product in a rich contextual setting appears to enhance women's perceptions of emotional value, which heightens their purchase intentions. This article also explicates the additive effect of including contextual elements and confirms the robustness of these effects across product categories and price changes. These findings suggest various notable implications for academics and practitioners.