Consumer Attitudes

Find the latest and most impactful research on consumer attitudes and behavior, including drivers and trends, here. All the research listed comes from the ARF or one of its subsidiaries: The Journal of Advertising Research (JAR), the Marketing Science Institute (MSI) or the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM). Feel free to bookmark this page, as it will be updated periodically.
Rethinking AI Adoption: Who’s Really Using AI Shopping Assistants?

Rethinking AI Adoption: Who’s Really Using AI Shopping Assistants?

  • ARF; MSI

As AI assistants become fully embedded within e-commerce platforms, the question becomes: how are consumers actually using them? This MSI working paper analyzes the behavior of over 31 million users on a major travel platform to uncover who adopts shopping AI, when it is used in the purchase journey, and what consumers rely on it for. The findings reveal that AI assistants complement—not replace—traditional search, helping consumers navigate complex, exploratory decisions and reshaping how discovery happens online.

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Why Virtual Influencers Struggle to Drive Engagement

Why Virtual Influencers Struggle to Drive Engagement

  • ARF
  • JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING RESEARCH

New research reveals that virtual influencers, despite their growing popularity and flexibility, are less effective than human influencers in driving engagement and brand outcomes. The reason lies in consumer psychology: people perceive virtual influencers as less deserving of success, which reduces feelings of envy—an emotion that typically drives social media engagement. However, this disadvantage can be mitigated when virtual influencers are paired with futuristic, technology-focused brands, where their artificial nature feels more congruent.

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The Science Behind What Makes Content Binge-Worthy

The Science Behind What Makes Content Binge-Worthy

  • ARF

What drives the media momentum behind say binge viewing a TV series on a streaming platform? This MSI working paper introduces “media momentum” as a key driver of binge-watching. It shows how the interaction between narrative complexity and emotional engagement increases both the likelihood of continued viewing and overall satisfaction. The findings offer a predictive framework for identifying truly “binge-worthy” content and optimizing release strategies.

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Winning Sports Marketing: How Brands Capture Attention, Engagement and Growth

Winning Sports Marketing: How Brands Capture Attention, Engagement and Growth

  • ARF
  • Knowledge at Hand | CMO Brief

Live sports remains one of the most powerful marketing platforms in today’s fragmented media environment—combining scale, attention, emotion and cultural relevance. This CMO Brief and Knowledge at Hand report explores how different sports deliver distinct value for brands and why the most effective strategies go beyond media buys to create connected, cross-platform fan experiences that drive engagement and business results.

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How Deepfake Ads Shape Consumer Response

How Deepfake Ads Shape Consumer Response

  • ARF
  • JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING RESEARCH

New research reveals that virtual influencers, despite their growing popularity and flexibility, are less effective than human influencers in driving engagement and brand outcomes. The reason lies in consumer psychology: people perceive virtual influencers as less deserving of success, which reduces feelings of envy—an emotion that typically drives social media engagement. However, this disadvantage can be mitigated when virtual influencers are paired with futuristic, technology-focused brands, where their artificial nature feels more congruent.

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Big vs. Small Influencers: Matching Follower Size to Message Strategy

Big vs. Small Influencers: Matching Follower Size to Message Strategy

  • ARF
  • JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING RESEARCH

Should brands partner with influencers who have massive followings—or smaller, more niche audiences? New research shows that the answer depends on how the message is delivered. Using construal level theory, the study finds that follower size signals psychological “social distance,” which shapes how consumers process influencer content. Smaller influencers are most persuasive when brand information is explicit and shared on their own channels, while mega-influencers perform better when branding is subtle or when content appears on brand-owned channels. The results suggest that aligning influencer follower size with message diagnosticity can significantly improve campaign effectiveness.

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Understanding Transparency in Brand Backstory Experience

Understanding Transparency in Brand Backstory Experience

  • ARF; MSI

As consumers increasingly expect brands to “open their doors,” companies respond by offering behind-the-scenes experiences, such as factory tours, visitor centers and brand museums. This MSI working paper shows that these encounters are not simple acts of openness, but carefully staged performances of transparency. Drawing on a multi-method, longitudinal investigation of four brand backstory sites, the authors conceptualize brand backstories as selectively disclosive narratives enacted in space. They demonstrate how brands strategically balance revealing and concealing to create the illusion of insider access—an experience that can strengthen authenticity perceptions when executed skillfully, but easily fracture when the performance breaks down.

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When Confidence Cuts Through: How Arrogant Visuals Capture Attention—and When They Convert

When Confidence Cuts Through: How Arrogant Visuals Capture Attention—and When They Convert

  • ARF
  • JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING RESEARCH

Can arrogance work in advertising? New research shows that visually arrogant expressions—such as confident, unsmiling, upward-tilted faces—can significantly increase consumer attention and brand recall. But attention alone doesn’t guarantee sales. Whether arrogance helps or hurts purchase intention depends on how well it aligns with a brand’s positioning. When arrogance reinforces a brand’s sense of leadership or distinctiveness, it can drive stronger buying intent. When it doesn’t, it can backfire.

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Why Personalization Persuades: What the Evidence Really Says

Why Personalization Persuades: What the Evidence Really Says

  • ARF
  • JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING RESEARCH

Does personalized advertising really work—or does it risk turning consumers off? A large-scale meta-analysis of 53 experimental studies finds that personalized ads are, on average, more persuasive than non-personalized ones, improving consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions. Crucially, personalization works not because it feels intrusive, but because it increases perceived relevance. When consumers see ads that connect to their interests and identities, persuasion improves—making personalization a low-risk, high-reward strategy when done well.

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Privacy, Trust & AI: How U.S. Consumers Are Rewriting the Rules of Advertising

Privacy, Trust & AI: How U.S. Consumers Are Rewriting the Rules of Advertising

  • ARF Original Research

The ARF’s latest privacy study shows that U.S. consumers are more informed, more trusting and more engaged with artificial intelligence than ever before—yet still cautious about how it and other technologies use their data. Drawing on responses from more than 1,200 adults, the 2025 study reveals rising openness to data sharing when clear benefits exist, persistent skepticism toward certain targeting practices and growing expectations for transparency, especially around AI. For advertising researchers, the findings highlight a shifting privacy landscape where relevance, trust and first-party data strategies are increasingly intertwined.

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