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.