Removal of Humans

A checklist of tactics that will boost sales.

Ecommerce

If you don't need someone to exemplify the quality of your product, show the product by itself.

Removing a person from the product image for a blender

Remove Humans From Product Images When Possible-min

Remove Humans From Product Images When Possible

A new study found that humans in product images reduce conversions because it triggers a lack of ownership. It's their product, not my product.

Prices seem cheaper when you reduce the left digit (e.g., $49). Turns out, this effect reduces speeding too (e.g., 49 km/h). Drivers are anchored to this lower numerical bracket (Rubaltelli et al., 2021).

Left-Digit Effect Reduces Speeding

South Korea tried to reduce overspending by sending a text message after every payment. But ironically, it increased spending. People no longer felt obligated to remember past transactions because they could delegate these memories to their device (Kim et al., 2023).

Mobile Payment Notifications Increase Spending

Some people touch products to feel more confident in buying them. New research shows that touchscreens (vs. a traditional mouse) can satisfy this need (Hattula, Herzog, & Dhar, 2023).

Touchscreens Satisfy the Need to Touch

Empty Space Effect

How to choose the right words and syntax

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQWblxg6XVo

Copywriting

Customers believe that marketers were unable to fill this space with additional benefits.

Customer review and list of benefits with empty space crossed out in each

Remove Empty Space Below Sales Copy

Messages are less persuasive when they're surrounded by empty space, especially toward the bottom. 

Apple just launched iPhone 15. If you bought iPhone 14 (like me), you might feel distant. Research shows that new versions are detrimental to owners of the previous version, reducing their likelihood of buying the brand in the future. Brands need to reinforce their relationship with these customers (e.g., special promotion; Jung, Peck, Palmeira, & Kim, 2022).

Customers Feel Left Behind With Product Upgrades

Some products resemble humans (e.g., toaster with eyes). We develop stronger relationships with these products, so it's harder to discard them. We typically sell them for higher prices (Kim & Swaminathan, 2021).

We Sell Anthropomorphic Products at Higher Prices

People received a restaurant suggestion from their device. They were more persuaded when they heard it from Alexa or Siri, compared to reading this text on the screen (Flavián, Akdim, & Casaló, 2023).

Voice-Based Recommendations Are More Persuasive

Customer IDs and Tolerance

Customers feel less human, numbing them to service failures.

Waitress spilling drink on customer who stays smiling

Customers Ignore Failures With Ids

Customers Tolerate Bad Service When They're Given ID Numbers

A new study found that customers feel less human when they're given ID numbers, numbing them to bad service.

A large European hotel surveyed 85,000+ guests. Turns out, guests who remembered an exceptional staff member were more likely to cancel future reservations. They felt a communal relationship with the hotel, as if they would understand and forgive the cancellation (Shuqair et al., 2022).

Close Relationships Are a Double-Edged Sword

Participants performed better with a golf putter when they assembled it themselves, compared to an identical pre-assembled putter (Köcher & Wilcox, 2022).

Self-Assembled Products Increase Performance

Researchers are closer to a treatment for severe procrastinators. Activating the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex reduced procrastination in individuals by increasing the perceived value of the outcome (Xu, Zhang, Zhou, & Feng, 2023).

The Neuroscience of Procrastination

Tolerating Failure

Scientific Backlash

Scientific rationales feel misplaced in emotional contexts, so they weaken perceived benefits.

Chocolate bar that claims to use nano technology

Don’t Use Science to Sell Emotional Products-Chocolate

Don't Use Science to Sell Emotional Products

Science is persuasive, unless you sell emotional products. Then it feels unexpected and misplaced, weakening the perceived benefits.

Humans need social interaction to improve their well-being. But this goalpost is nearby. Based on research with 180k participants, a moderate amount of social interaction fulfills our intrinsic need. Afterward, these interactions produce diminishing returns (though it doesn't slope downward; Ren, Stavrova, & Loh, 2022).

How Social Do We Need to Be?

We're more likely to buy unhealthy food with credit cards because we feel less pain. Cash payments are more painful, which pushes our focus toward the guilt and risks associated with these purchases (Park, Lee, & Thomas, 2021).

Cashless Payments Fuel Unhealthy Purchases

People saved more money when they saw an image of cash with humanlike traits. It felt more vulnerable, as if it needed saving (Wang, Kim, S., Zhou, 2023).

Anthropomorphic Money Increases Savings

Science backlash effect

Cell phone showing email inbox with Nick Kolenda's newsletter, along with an example newsletter that seems super interesting

Every week, I'll send you a new and interesting marketing study.

Previous Newsletters

Removal of Humans

Empty Space Effect

Tolerating Failure

Science backlash effect

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