Shining Bright: How Perceived Quality Through Light Reflection Influences Car Buying Decisions

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

When we talk about what makes a car look good, we often point to its color, the materials used, and how it’s finished. This trio is known in the car world as CMF: color, material, and finishing. Most of the time, when car folks delve into this topic, they zoom in on color choices. But there’s more to color than just the shade—brightness counts too.

Key Takeaways:

Impact of Light Reflection Brightness: Increasing light reflection brightness on vehicle exteriors is positively correlated with higher purchase intentions, especially for SUVs compared to compact cars.
Vehicle Type and Consumer Preference: Consumer preferences vary significantly with vehicle type; design and aesthetic factors have a greater influence on SUV purchase intentions, whereas economic considerations are more crucial for compact cars.
Perceived Quality vs. Styling: Perceived quality, indicated by light reflection brightness, has a stronger potential return on investment compared to extensive styling efforts.
Role of CMF Specialists: The study highlights a market shortage and thus a need for more CMF (Color, Material, Finish) designers who can enhance product value based on scientific evidence.
Importance of Design Concept Consistency: Effective matching of design elements with product features is crucial. Emotional elements, like design, should be tailored to align with the type of product to prevent resource wastage.

Conclusions:

The study highlights that it’s not just about a car’s overall look (styling), but how the car’s surface interacts with light (perceived quality) plays a major role in attracting buyers. While many focus on the general design, the quality of reflection can have a bigger impact, especially for SUVs. So, both the style and the quality of finishes, like paint reflection, are crucial for a car’s success in the market.

Unpacking Perceived Quality in Car Design and Its Impact on Consumer Choice

The idea of “perceived quality” is huge when it comes to winning over customers. Think about how Apple sets itself apart and makes its gadgets feel more premium by crafting them from a single piece of aluminum—even though it costs a pretty penny. That’s a big deal for their brand and puts them ahead in the game. Perceived quality isn’t just some fancy term; it’s a key business strategy. But, it’s tricky because it’s about personal taste—like what looks good and feels good—so it’s different for everyone. This is what companies have to juggle with when they’re trying to impress their customers.

In the world of making things look and feel good—like cars—the magic formula is often boiled down to color, material, and how things are finished up, known as CMF.

This particular study puts a magnifying glass on color. Now, color isn’t just about what shade it is; it’s also about things like how saturated it is and how light or dark it is. But there’s another piece to this puzzle—how shiny or glossy something is, because that plays into how we see quality, thanks to the way it catches the light.

Even though car designers love playing with how much a car’s paint job shines, there hasn’t been a ton of digging into how that glossiness affects what people think about a car. That’s what this research is all about—taking a deep dive into how the shine of a car’s coat impacts whether people want to buy it.

Plus, it looks at how the type of car—like an SUV versus a compact—changes the game.

This study is actually breaking new ground here, trying to figure out what makes a car’s sparkle make us want to take it home. Understanding this could really help carmakers and even other industries make their products hit home with buyers.

By charting new territory in the influence of light reflection on perceived quality, this study paves the way for innovation across industries. If manufacturers can harness the power of shine—tailoring it to fit the unique demands of various product categories—they can craft items that not only catch the eye but also capture the heart, solidifying their appeal in the competitive dance for consumer attention.

Shine to sell. Background and Hypotheses

The research paints a clear picture: what makes us think a product is top-notch goes beyond just how long it lasts. We’re talking about the feels—like how nice it looks or how comfy it is to use. That’s why simply beefing up a product’s endurance isn’t enough to win hearts. The real MVP here is “perceived quality,” which not only nudges people to buy but also keeps them coming back for more. For the folks running the show, this perceived quality translates into better stock prices and solid branding.

Now, let’s talk specifics. When it comes to what shapes this perceived quality, we’ve got a lineup that includes familiar faces like brand fame, trust, and reputation, plus other influencers like where something’s made, how it’s priced, and even the impact of deals or discounts. This isn’t just idle chat; these elements are key players in product development that make sure a design isn’t just good—it’s great.

Zooming in on color, it’s clear that this isn’t a new conversation. Marketers have been diving into how color stirs our emotions and swings our decision to buy for a while now. Take food, for example—studies show that the color of the mug or the packaging can actually change how we think something tastes. And it’s not just food. In medicines, warm colors make us feel like the meds are stronger. And for the brands themselves, colors are like a secret handshake that can say a lot about who they are.

But here’s the thing: color isn’t just about what meets the eye at first glance.

We’ve got three big players in the game of color: hue (which is basically the color), saturation (how intense that color is), and lightness (how light or dark it is). So far, most car studies have just been fixated on hue. But there’s a gap here—what about the shine? What about how the light bounces off that paint job?

This study is chasing a hunch that this glossiness, this light reflection brightness, might just be a game-changer when it comes to choosing a car.

Here’s the deal:

Hypothesis 1 (H1): A shiny, reflective car is more likely to catch a buyer’s eye and get them to pull out their wallet.

But it’s not a one-size-fits-all. The type of car matters too. A smaller, budget-friendly compact car might not get the same love with the extra shine that a big, design-forward SUV might.

So, the study rolls out a couple more educated guesses:

Hypothesis 2-1 (H2-1): For compact cars, the extra gleam won’t make them any more tempting to buyers.

Hypothesis 2-2 (H2-2): But for SUVs, make it shine and the buyers might just line up.

In essence, it’s all about matching the car’s glow-up with what it’s supposed to represent. That’s what this study is setting out to prove, lighting the way for future designs.

Design Production

To investigate the hypotheses:

Car Designs: Multiple car designs were produced with varying levels of light reflection brightness. To ensure a neutral standpoint free from pre-existing brand perceptions, newly crafted car designs were used instead of established car models.
Design Elements: The variables adjusted were the metal flake layer size, which affects light reflection, and the refractive index of the clear coat, which impacts the shine of the car’s exterior.
Design Tool: Autodesk Vred Design software was utilized for creating the design variations.

Results and Analysis

For the survey component:

Demographic: Participants were Japanese residents aged between 30 and 60, all of whom were current car owners. The age bracket was chosen based on the presumption of higher car ownership and purchase experience.
Exclusion: Younger individuals (in their 20s) were excluded due to generally lower car ownership rates and purchasing experience.
Sample Size: The study had a total of 600 participants, stratified across three levels of brightness and two car body types.
Survey Structure: The survey was divided into a screening phase to ensure participants met the criteria and a main survey where randomized controlled trials were conducted to assess purchase intentions on a 7-point Likert scale across 10 car designs.

Impact of Light Reflection Brightness on Purchase Intentions:

Overall Effect: An increase in light reflection brightness correlates with higher purchase intentions for both compact cars and SUVs, though the effect is more pronounced for SUVs.
Statistical Significance: The chi-square test indicated no significant effect of light reflection brightness on purchase intentions for compact cars (p = 0.732) but did show a significant effect for SUVs (p = 0.006).
Effect Size: Cramer’s V was calculated to be 0.217 for SUVs, indicating a small effect size.
Steel’s Test Results: Significant differences in purchase intentions were noted at the high level of brightness for SUVs when compared to the low level, but not at the medium level.

The multiple regression model revealed that:

Compact Cars: Economic factors such as fuel efficiency and price were positive predictors of purchase intentions.
SUVs: Price negatively influenced purchase intentions, while design positively influenced them. High light reflection brightness also positively affected purchase intentions, aligning with the chi-square results.

Interpretation and Implications:

Preference Variation: Consumer preferences and the values they seek differ based on the car type, which, in turn, influences how light reflection brightness affects their purchase intentions.
Compact vs. SUV Preferences: The study suggests that consumers consider economic factors more heavily when considering compact cars, while design and aesthetic factors, including light reflection brightness, are more influential when considering SUVs.
Design Considerations for Manufacturers: Car manufacturers might benefit from investing in higher light reflection brightness for SUVs, as this seems to align with consumer preferences for this car type. For compact cars, the focus might be better placed on economic features rather than aesthetic ones like brightness.

Conclusions

In the automotive world, the gleam of a car’s exterior isn’t just for show—it has a real impact on buyers’ intentions. This study shines a light on how this plays out differently across car types.

For example, a high gloss on an SUV significantly boosts its allure, aligning with consumers’ design expectations.

However, for compact cars, where cost is king, a shiny finish doesn’t have the same persuasive power. The research supports the notion that elevating light reflection from low to high makes a marked difference in consumer appeal, especially for design-centric vehicles like SUVs.

The study’s findings weave new threads into the fabric of marketing theory, emphasizing that color’s impact extends beyond hue, saturation, and lightness to include brightness of reflection—a factor overlooked until now. This gap has been bridged, revealing that the right amount of sheen can sway purchase intentions, particularly with SUVs where design trumps cost. It’s a pivotal insight that adds a new layer to our understanding of how color influences consumer behavior and can drive the success of a vehicle in the market.

For practitioners, the takeaway is clear:

Perceived quality matters as much as styling, if not more. The study advocates for a shift in focus from traditional design elements to the tangible effects of perceived quality, like the sheen of a car’s finish. It underscores the importance of hiring specialists in Color, Material, and Finish (CMF) to harness these insights and integrate them into sustainable product design strategies. It also cautions against a one-size-fits-all approach, urging that product features be tailored to match their emotional appeal.

While the study centers on cars, its implications ripple out to other industries, promising similar benefits when the gloss of a product is finely tuned to its intended market segment. Future research is encouraged to expand these insights across different vehicle types and consumer demographics, and to explore how the interplay of product design, environment, and perceived size can further influence consumer decisions.

Disclaimer: This Future Insight is the adaptation of the original research article entitled: “Perceived color quality: The effect of light reflection brightness of a car’s exterior design on consumers’ purchase intentions” written by Takumi KATO. Originally published in International Journal of Engineering Business Management.

About this paper:

Kato T. Perceived color quality: The effect of light reflection brightness of a car’s exterior design on consumers’ purchase intentions. International Journal of Engineering Business Management. 2022;14.

Link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/18479790221126791

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