Does a big Duchenne smile really matter on e-commerce websites? An eye-tracking study in China

Abstract

The smile is the most common and universal human facial expression. This study investigates the joint effect of a model’s smile type and intensity on consumers’ attention and purchase intention. A 2 (smile type Duchenne smile vs. non-Duchenne smile) × 2 (smile intensity high vs. low) eye-tracking experiment was conducted to collect data on the eye movements of 52 female participants and their purchase intentions. Results showed that the product paired with a Duchenne smile drew more attention from the participants with stronger purchase intentions than a non-Duchenne smile. Moreover, smile intensity moderated the effects of smile type on the participants’ attention to the packshot (i.e., product picture) and product description. Specifically, when the smile intensity was low, a Duchenne smile drew more attention to the packshot and description than a non-Duchenne smile did. However, the effect was reversed for a smile with strong intensity.