earticle

영어

Recently the wearable technologies market has diversified to the point where even the leading fashion brands have adopted prototypes. For this reason, consumer- and fashion-centric perspectives on the consumption of wearable technologies are needed for a better understanding of the market. The author tests the effect of design aesthetics of a fictitious smartwatch (i.e., the wearable technology) as a key factor of nonfunctional hedonic consumption on consumer-perceived product value. The results of an online survey of 233 U.S. shoppers indicate a strong, positive effect of design aesthetics on both the perceived utilitarian and hedonic values of wearable technologies. Furthermore, the hypothesized moderation of gender is statistically confirmed in the mechanism of design aesthetics toward perceived utilitarian value, but gender is found to not moderate the effect of design aesthetics for the smartwatch on hedonic value. Male shoppers are found to be more positively influenced by perceived design aesthetics. Theoretical and managerial implications and study limitations are further discussed.