The Truth About What Customers Want

Chapter 28. Nothing shouts quality like leather from Poland

A product’s “address” matters. We seek out Italian shoes and microwave ovens built in South Korea, but we may take a pass on Italian ovens and South Korean shoes. Consumers strongly associate certain items with specific countries, and products from those countries often attempt to benefit from these linkages. In addition, the consumer’s own expertise with the product category moderates the effects of this attribute. When other information is available, experts tend to ignore country-of-origin information, whereas novices continue to rely on it. However, when other information is unavailable or ambiguous, both experts and novices will rely on a product’s birthplace to make a decision. ...