Remove Meaningless Words From Product Descriptions

Products seem more expensive (yet worse in quality) when described with unfamiliar words.

Overview

Do you know what zal means? Me neither.

Researchers found that meaningless descriptions (e.g., zal fried chicken) reduced sales. These products seemed more expensive, yet worse in quality (Baskin, & Liu, 2021).

It’s not just zal. Marketers sprinkle impressive words (e.g., industrial, disruptive, esoteric) in their copy, yet these words remain meaningless to many customers.

Exceptions might exist, but you could probably remove these words from your materials:

Beverage: full-bodied
Restaurant: artisanal
Furniture: industrial
Tech: disruptive
Fashion: esoteric
Beauty: opulent
Household: eco-friendly
Luxury: avant-garde

Baskin, E., & Liu, P. J. (2021). Meaningless descriptors increase price judgments and decrease quality judgments. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 31(2), 283-300.