Amount of Information as a Determinant of Consumer Behavior Towards New Products

Consumer behavior towards a new product, the Gillette TRAC II twin blade razor, was studied at the time of its product introduction, as a function of two levels of information regarding the new product. It was found that the proportion of subjects who were willing to buy the product to try it was higher for the High Information Group (HIG) compared to the Low Information Group (LIG). The study also tested the ability of a new product model due to Shocker and Srinivasan to predict whether or not the subject would switch to TRAC II. The model predicted quite well for the RIG but not so for the LIG.