Owning a pet can tell marketers all they need to know about your buying tendencies. In a new study, Lei Jia, assistant professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at Kent State, found that pet ownership can influence and predict consumer behavior.
In his most recent endeavor, Jia set out to understand how pet ownership could influence a consumer鈥檚 actions.
鈥淧ets play such important roles in people鈥檚 lives,鈥 Jia said. 鈥淭hey may have some impact on people鈥檚 decisions as consumers as well. That鈥檚 why I started looking at how people鈥檚 experience with dogs or cats may influence their judgment and decision making in marketing and consumption-related activities.鈥
Jia鈥檚 study, published at the Journal of Marketing and featured by theconversation.com and wsj.com, found that dog owners are more likely to take risks while cat owners are more cautious.
These findings can apply to more than consumer purchases as well. The researchers found that they were able to expand their research, and future research prospects, to topics such as the likelihood of dog versus cat owners having COVID-19 and prosocial behavior.
Understanding consumer behavior in this way can allow the advertising and marketing industry to use pet ownership as a segmentation strategy in their promotional campaigns. Even industries such as public health can benefit from this research.
鈥淏ecause we find that dog owners are more likely to take risks, if policy makers want to encourage people to be more cautious, to prevent infectious diseases for example, then they should put more effort on influencing dog owners,鈥 Jia said.
The research suggests that a person鈥檚 pet ownership situation can reflect the approach they take in their decision-making processes, being either eager or cautious in activities they choose, choices they make or how they respond in times of crisis.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very exciting to see people pay attention to this work,鈥 Jia said, 鈥渂ecause as researchers you want people to understand what you do and have a conversation with a broader audience.鈥
While there is still much to explore, Jia is excited about the positive impact this research has already had and is looking forward to expanding his research in the future.
To learn more about Jia鈥檚 study, visit .
To learn more about Kent State鈥檚 marketing program, visit www.kent.edu/business.