Eyes Don't Lie: The Influence of Testimonial Gaze Direction and Message Wording on Brand Perception and Purchase Intention

Separate streams of research in psychology have found that abstract language and averted gaze are used by individuals as (involuntary) cues of deceptive intent and lying, as opposed to concrete language and direct gaze. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of research about the marketing implications of these cues, for instance about how direct/averted testimonial gaze and the choice of a concrete/abstract verbal message may affect consumer product evaluation, brand perception and purchase intention. We provide an initial attempt in a 3x3 between-subjects experiment where we manipulate testimonial’s gaze (frontal, lateral, no testimonial) and message wording (concrete, abstract, no message). Results show that the previous findings witnessing that liars tend to avoid direct gaze does revive, influencing consumer evaluations about a brand when the testimonial is portrayed with averted gaze and lowering perceived brand exclusiveness and purchase intention, while abstract wording negatively influences purchase intention. Operational implications for marketers are discussed basing on these initial yet novel findings, as well as directions for future research.