But what really is cool in the eyes of consumers as they plan purchases?
A new study published in the Journal of International Marketing finds that practicality rather than bling is the most important factor in whether consumers consider a product to be cool.
The study focuses on consumers in the US, Germany and China, and finds that consumers generally care more about how a product makes them feel than about what others think – so this suggests that great products are cooler than merely fashionable products.
“Demonstrating that functional innovation is cool flies against conventional wisdom that often frames cool products as style-driven rather than practical,” says study co-author Eden Yin, Associate Professor of Marketing at Cambridge Judge Business School. He notes, however, that consumers in China care more about exclusivity than do consumers in the US and Germany.
“Our findings help product managers in design strategies by highlighting aspects that are globally consistent, such as utility, while also identifying how products can be modified for certain consumers, such as those in China, in order to best optimise local perceptions of coolness. We think this has important marketing and managerial implications,” says Eden Yin.
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