Research Stories

by Carrie Barnett

Women need maxi-pads. Cat people need cat litter. And parents with babies buy diapers. Just because we need these items doesn't change the fact that we can be repulsed by them. But if retailers were smart, says Andrea Morales, they would be sure to keep these undesirable items away from other, less "icky" products—or else.

Morales is an assistant professor of marketing at Arizona State University's W. P. Carey School of Business. According to her latest research, any number of cringe-worthy items can have a seriously negative effect on the way consumers view other items with which they happen to come in contact.

Morales says this "product contagion" effect can turn the stomachs of even the most rational buyers. It can make usually attractive products unappealing. Ultimately, it cuts directly into retailers profits.

"People often don't believe, or don't know, that they are affected by this contagion," says Morales. "But it's real."

Morales found that consumers seem to believe, either consciously or subconsciously, that a disgusting product—even something brand-new and still wrapped its original packaging—can somehow taint the non-disgusting products it touches. As a result, they will avoid buying the "contaminated" products.

Morales worked with Gavan Fitzsimons, a professor of marketing and psychology at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. They compiled a list of "disgusting" products then set up experiments. The pair arranged the disgusting and non-disgusting items in shopping carts or on shelves, just as they would appear in an actual store.

Morales says they found "strong evidence" supporting the existence of product contagion—stronger evidence, in fact, than she expected.

"In one case, we put a container of lard touching a package rice cakes. This actually made the rice cakes seem less appealing, but also more fattening," Morales says. "It's almost as if people believe the lard will ooze its fat onto the rice cakes."

For more information about this and other studies at the W. P. Carey School of Business, visit Knowledge @ W. P. Carey.

Read more about Andrea Morales' research in "Picky Picky: How 'product contamination' costs retailers.'"