How to shape your products

Of course it depends on what product you are selling, but this is interesting research.

Shi, Mai, and Mo report that “this research explores how anthropomorphic products’ humanlike body shapes influence consumer evaluation and purchase intention (PI). Findings . . . indicate that a chubby product shape is more likely to trigger perceptions of Agreeableness, whereas a thin humanized shape is more likely to trigger perceptions of Conscientiousness.

Moreover, product attitudes are more favorable and PI is higher when products’ internal attributes (i.e., warmth and competence) match product humanized body shapes (i.e., chubby shape-warmth attribute or thin shape-competence attribute) than when shapes and product attributes mismatch. . . .

This research suggests the effectiveness of product design based on congruity between anthropomorphic product shapes (i.e., chubby and thin shapes) and internal attributes (i.e., warmth and competence attributes).

A chubby-shaped product generates more favorable product evaluation and higher PI when warmth is its internal attribute. Such preference and higher PI are found for thin anthropomorphic products with the competence attribute.”

Bing Shi, Yixia Mai, and Minying Mo.  “Chubby or Thin?  Investigation of (In)Congruity Between Product Body Shapes and Internal Warmth/Competence.”  Journal of Experimental Psychology:  Applied, https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000427