The effects of online product presentation on consumer responses: A mental imagery perspective

• Studied effect of online product presentation from a mental imagery perspective
• Concrete pictures are effective in facilitating virtual experience through greater elaboration of mental imagery.
• Mental imagery elicited from product presentation increased behavioral intentions via positive emotions.
• Individual’s style of processing (SOP) moderates the relationship between the concrete pictures and mental imagery.
• Visualizers experience greater elaboration of mental imagery than verbalizers when exposed to a concrete picture.

This study investigates the effects of online product presentation on consumer responses from a mental imagery perspective and the moderating effect of style of processing (SOP). College women (N = 550) participated in an online experiment using a 2 (picture: concrete consumption background vs. solid background) × 2 (text: concrete descriptions vs. no descriptions) between-subjects factorial design. The findings suggest that product presentation with a relevant consumption background is more effective in evoking mental imagery than one with a solid white background. Mental imagery increases consumers' behavioral intentions by eliciting a positive emotional response to product presentations. The findings further show that descriptions of background in text interact with a picture of consumption background to stimulate mental imagery, depending on SOP (visualize vs. verbalizer). The results have practical implications for effective product presentations in online retailing.