Recently, Cornell University released a study about understanding the pattern of user mouse cursor patterns and then gathering the data to see how they select the products that they do and what are the factors affecting their decision. Fischer, one of the researchers, said “By capturing the trajectory of a cursor’s locations, we estimate brand consideration time—the initial time at which consumers start to consider a brand’s desirability—and product consideration time—the initial time at which consumers start to consider a product’s desirability,” and also mentioned that “We find that such attribute consideration times differ and that these relative differences in consideration time influence consumers’ choice of branded products.”
Results also show that “while consumers typically process brand attributes relatively later than product attributes, the timing of this processing affects choice. When consumers trade off brand and product desirability, the earlier that they consider brand attributes, the more likely they are to choose the option from the preferred brand.”
Woolley, who researches the psychological processes underlying consumer motivation, said, “This research unearths the complex interplay of consumer decision-making, where the sequence and timing of brand and product are attributed amidst multiple choices,” and added, “By shedding light on these nuanced processes, the study paves the way for a deeper understanding of how consumers navigate the complex landscape of brand preferences.”
We already know that advertisements play a huge role in how the products are selected and bought by the customers and this study also confirms the same. It was revealed that “advertisements can influence brand consideration: When ads succeed at making brand information top of mind over product information, consumers tend to resolve the conflict between choice options by selecting options from a preferred brand, even if it means choosing a less preferred product.”
Fisher said, “Our findings suggest that any intervention that increases the relative time at which brands are processed should encourage consumers to make more brand-based choices by increasing the display of brand attributes on product packaging and in advertising”. “Collecting cursor-tracking data is accessible, cheap, and scalable. Companies can integrate the tools we introduce here to improve their ability to segment customers by identifying those who are likely to initially attend to brand-relevant features.”