Can you imagine yourself wearing this product? Embodied mental simulation and attractiveness in e-commerce product pictures

Purpose This paper aims to understand what kind of fashion product picture can arouse greater embodied mental simulation at two distinct steps of consumers' shopping journey (choice between options and purchase intention). Design/methodology/approach Two experimental studies were developed. Study 1 ( n = 169) investigated consumers' purchase intention, and Study 2 ( n = 156) investigated consumers' choice for a T-shirt displayed in an e-commerce store. The authors manipulated the product picture by considering pictures with the presence or absence of a human model wearing the product (flat vs. mannequin vs. human model without a face vs. human model with a face). Findings Consumers demonstrated greater choice and purchase intention for the picture that aroused greater embodied mental simulation. Different pictures aroused greater embodied mental simulation depending on the consumer journey step (choice between two options or purchase intention). Perceived product attractiveness influenced this finding. Research limitations/implications The data on men and women were analyzed together due to the low number of male participants in both studies. Practical implications The results suggest that mannequin pictures should be used in situations involving product evaluation (e-commerce categories' pages) and that pictures with human models should be used in situations entailing further analysis of the product (e-commerce product page) to encourage purchase decisions. E-commerce managers also need to use pictures of human models when the product is viewed as less attractive. Originality/value This research investigated embodied mental simulation around product pictures at two distinct steps of consumers' shopping journey.