The contribution of neuroscience to consumer research: A conceptual framework and empirical review

• Semantic clustering reveals the core concepts and themes of consumer neuroscience.
• We propose a framework to assess the evidence from consumer neuroscience.
• Evidence is growing on the role of several brain regions in consumption.
• Important obstacles exist against the integration of consumer behaviour theories.
• Neuroimaging cannot replace traditional consumer research techniques.

Following the development of advanced neuroimaging techniques, the growing interest in studying the brain’s response to marketing stimuli resulted in the birth of consumer neuroscience within the field of neuroeconomics. However, marketing scholars have remained reluctant to adopt the techniques of neuroscience and there is still uncertainty about the capacity of neuroimaging data to provide useful findings about consumer psychology and behaviour. In order to clarify the current scope and contribution of consumer neuroscience, we first develop a semantic cluster analysis of the boundaries of the field, followed by a comprehensive empirical review from 34 selected studies. We propose a novel approach to classify findings and facilitate the assessment of evidence around the topics of decision-making, rewards, memory and emotions. Finally, we discuss the possible role of several brain mechanisms in the processing of marketing stimuli as well as obstacles to the integration of these findings with classical consumer behaviour theories. We conclude that the contribution of neuroimaging remains too limited to replace existing consumer research techniques and provide recommendations for future research.