Effect Of Self-perceived Attractiveness On Consumers’ Unique Choice

Nowadays,consumers pay much more attention to their appearance and body,thus they invest much money in appearance-enhancing products or services to improve their physical attractiveness.In view of the importance consumers attach to their appearance and figure,their subjective evaluation of their physical attractiveness(i.e.,self-perceived physical attractiveness)will inevitably affect their consumption.However,the literature on self-perceived attractiveness mainly focuses on its relationship with individual’s mental health,personality and psychological perception,few studies provide insights into the relationship between self-perceived attractiveness and consumer purchasing behavior.Moreover,previous studies have provided compelling evidence that the compliments from others(e.g.,salesman)on their physical appearance tend to make them have higher evaluations on their own attractiveness.Therefore,it is also meaningful to understand how self-perceived attractiveness affects consumers’ behavior in marketing practice.Based on the research gap and value mentioned above,and the fact that consumers always hope to convey a distinctive identity by purchasing unique products(i.e.,distinctive choice),this research examined whether and how selfperceived attractiveness affects consumers’ distinctive choice.Previous research has proved that high(vs.low)self-perceived attractiveness can activate an individual’s higher subjective social class perception,and individuals from the upper-class(vs.lower-class)individuals have a stronger desire for personal agency rather than communality.Based on the theoretical foundation above,this study proposed and demonstrated that consumers with high(vs.low)self-perceived attractiveness have a higher willingness to choose unique products(Study 3).Furthermore,this research established a serial explanation mechanism of subjective social class and need for uniqueness through sequential mediation analysis(Study 2).Specifically,consumers with high(vs.low)self-perceived attractiveness hold a belief that they belong to a higher social class,and such perception further activates their higher need for uniqueness,which eventually reflects in their distinctive choice.Finally,this research demonstrated the moderating effect of consumption contexts.Specifically,consumers with high(vs.low)self-perceived attractiveness are more willing to choose unique products in public contexts,but there is no significant difference between the two types of consumers in distinctive choice in private contexts(Study 3).The conclusions of this research have great significance in theory and practice.In the aspect of theories:(1)By means of establishing the relationship between selfperceived attractiveness and need for uniqueness and unique choice,this research not only enriches the literature of self-perceived attractiveness in the domain of consumer behavior but also expands the research on distinctive choice and consumer identity;(2)This study establishes a sequential mediation mechanism on subjective social class and need for uniqueness,thus it further clarifies the mechanism of selfperceived attractiveness on distinctive choice.(3)This study further completes the effect of self-perceived attractiveness on distinctive choice and extends the literature of impression management by considering the moderating variable of consumption contexts(public vs.private).In practice:(1)This study provides insights on how retailers recommend products or what products they recommend to consumers.(2)This study also encourages consumers to treat sales staff’s flattery and recommendation in a more rational way.