The Lure Of Hedonic Products

Catalogues featuring hedonic products have 120% higher marketing ROI than utilitarian products, consistent with psychological theories. Higher-priced products also achieved 50% higher marketing ROI compared to lower-priced products.

The finding that the catalogue’s effectiveness is product-type dependent can help explain why while many hedonic and experiential brands such as Birchbox and Lego are implementing catalogue strategies, many traditional utilitarian brands such as Ikea have discontinued them.