The R.E.M. Lab merges new eye-tracking technologies with other behavioral research techniques to address questions from academia, Extension and industry partners. Humans use vision to collect over 95% of the information they use when making decisions. However, at any given point, only 2% of the visual field is focused on, processed, and used. As a result, capturing consumers’ visual attention is the gateway to customer engagement, information acquisition, and processing. Understanding what information captures attention (or is ignored) can improve the efficiency of communications with different stakeholder groups.
A wide variety of applications exist that can aid in marketing and production strategies. Understanding how people visually process stimuli can improve its effectiveness. For example, people view logos quicker and longer than the same information provided in text and are more likely to purchase ornamental plants with the logos (Rihn et al., 2020). These results imply using logos is more effective in marketing plants than text information. There is also an opportunity to view information processing by different people to improve its effectiveness. For instance, one could compare information use by experts versus novices. Expert gazes could help guide and educate beginners through experiencing the process through the eyes of an expert. Beginners’ gazes could help identify where miscommunication is occurring and educational opportunities exist.
There are numerous applications depending upon the end goal of the project. Below are some suggested applications.
Research topic examples:
- Effectiveness and visual saliency of marketing materials
- Advertisements, point-of-sale materials, promotional content
- Menu, product or services information layout
- Product design, store or shelf layout
- Target marketing that resonates with different niches
- Value-added agriculture labels
- Pricing strategies
- Instructions / tutorial saliency
- End customer, expert vs. novice, supply chain member information use
Measurement examples:
- Ease of use
- Information retention
- Knowledge gained
- Ease of understanding
- Attention capturing ability (time to first fixation, duration, gaze path, number of fixations)
- Consumer preferences and perceptions
- Impact on purchasing behavior
- Willingness-to-pay estimates (premiums)
- Importance of attributes
- Visual attention (cumulative or by niche market)
Potential Uses in Research, Extension, and Industry:
Industry
Uses
Animal Science
Evaluating animal health; Judging – which animals capture visual attention and what features capture attention; Evaluating meat quality; Animal or product selection; Animal feed and nutrition labeling; Training information effectiveness to enhance learning.
Food Science
Nutrition facts labels; Eco-labeling; Product choice experiments; Relationship between visual features and perceived nutrition; Purchasing behavior.
Horticulture
Garden center signage and promotions; Plant selection; Cut flower judging and cultivar development; Disease and pest identification; Fruit and vegetable attributes, signage, and displays; Farmers markets displays; Production related promotions.
Retail
Store layout; Product design; Labeling strategies; Advertising and promotions; Pricing promotions
Marketing
Marketing strategies that engage customers; Social media platform design; User-friendly experiences; Promotions that capture attention; Product placement.
Fashion and Design
Refine fashion toward consumers; improve options for plus sized clothing; clothing website curation; personal tailoring and design
Engineering and Architecture
Improve curb appeal; analyze human interaction with machinery; Blend buildings with landscape
Landscape Management
Landscape aesthetics and design; Eco-friendly landscape practices; Perceived maintenance requirements; Home / land value.
Website Design and Interface
Ease of use; Increased understanding; What information is observed which is ignored; Effectiveness of promotions and deals.
Depending upon the research objective, there are better eye-tracking technologies available (e.g., stationary cameras or mobile glasses). Incorporating eye-tracking technology to address related research questions gives academics, Extension personnel, and industry leaders additional insights into their clientele which can potentially improve market penetration and effectiveness of promotions.
If you have questions on whether your project or idea would benefit from the services provided by the R.E.M. Lab, please contact Dr. Alicia Rihn at arihn@utk.edu.