The Reduced and Enhanced Impact of Shared Features on Individual Brand Evaluations

In 3 studies, consumers received information about products that had either positive or negative features in common. When they evaluated the products shortly afterward, the common features had little influence on their evaluations, and this was true regardless of whether they had made a preference rating, a similarity rating, or no rating at all before reporting these evaluations. In all cases, consumers apparently used one of the brands spontaneously as a standard of comparison for the other and, in doing so, discounted their common features. When their evaluation was delayed, however, shared features had greater impact. Two factors appear to be operating in the latter conditions. First, the alternative brand is less accessible and, therefore, is less likely to be used as a standard of comparison. Second, shared features are easier to recall than unique features, so they have a disproportional influence for this reason.