Clear is Popular: The Emoticon Picture Clarity Affects Consumer Service Satisfaction

The emoticon picture clarity in online service encounters has been overlooked in consumer research. Our study intends to investigate how emoticon picture clarity influences consumer service satisfaction. Across four experiments and a single-paper meta-analysis, we demonstrate that when service providers use clear rather blurred emoticon pictures to communicate with consumers, consumers will have higher service satisfaction (Study 1). This effect is attributed to the higher processing fluency induced by clear emoticon pictures, which in turn triggers greater satisfaction (Studies 2 and 3). Furthermore, this effect is weakened when consumers experience cognitive load (Study 4). These findings provide novel insights into consumers' biased evaluations of service providers and offer valuable guidance for marketers to enhance online shopping services through the strategic use of emoticon pictures.