How a car looks can go a long way in determine how much it sells and researchers, including one of Indian-origin, have now found what design elements prime a car's popularity. By combining data on aesthetic design and sales, the researchers showed that while customers do not like cars to look too different from the market average, they also do not want something that looks too similar. When buying a luxury car, it is more important that the car looks consistent with the brand, and less important that it looks like other cars in the market segment.
Cars in the economy segment can gain in popularity by mimicking the aesthetics of their luxury counterparts, the study said. The findings will help marketing professionals make better decisions on aesthetic design, and can be applied to a wide range of product categories including electronics, wearable technologies and household appliances, said Subramanian "Bala" Balachander, Professor at University of California, Riverside, in the US.
