To Be Uniqueness or To Be Conformity? Exploring the Influence of Sense of Power on Consumers' Preference for Uniqueness

Continuously launching new products has become a key strategy for enterprises to enhance their market competitiveness, but this approach is not always effective due to variations in consumers' sense of power, which can influence their preferences for uniqueness. This article investigates the impact of sense of power on consumers' preferences for unique products through three sets of five experiments. The study found that high-power consumers tend to adopt an independent self-construal, which increases their preference for unique products. However, when making decisions for others, their preference for uniqueness decreases. In contrast, low-power consumers tend to adopt a dependent self-construal, which diminishes their preference for uniqueness, and this preference remains unaffected whether they are making decisions for themselves or for others. This article expands the research on uniqueness preferences and offers valuable insights for marketers in areas such as product design, promotion, and packaging.