The Impact of Emotion on Consumer Behavior

This study investigates the impact of different advertising appeals on consumer behavior by comparing emotional, functional, and neutral advertisements. Utilizing an experimental design, 475 participants were randomly assigned to view one of three types of advertisements for a fictional smartphone, with their purchase intention and decision time measured through questionnaires. The results indicate that emotional advertisements significantly enhance purchase intention ( = 1.871, p < 0.01) compared to functional and neutral advertisements, supporting behavioral theories that position emotion as a critical driver of consumer choice. In contrast, functional advertisements reduce decision time ( = -0.210, p < 0.05), likely due to their clear, feature-focused information facilitating quicker evaluation. These findings align with the dual-process model of decision-making, where emotional appeals evoke affective responses, and functional appeals satisfy cognitive efficiency. The study provides actionable insights for marketers, suggesting that emotional strategies are more effective in boosting purchase intention, while functional approaches optimize decision processes. Limitations include sample imbalance and cultural specificity (data collected in China), which may affect the generalizability of the results. Future research should explore cross-cultural differences and diverse product categories to further validate these findings. Overall, this study underscores the importance of tailoring advertising strategies based on consumer psychology and product types.