Effects of puffery on consumer purchase decision

• Main Authors: Lee, Yi Ling, Lim, Xin Ru, Zhang, Catherine Weilin
• Other Authors: Kennedy, Jeffrey Cameron
• Format: Final Year Project
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::Marketing::Consumer behavior
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/10484
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The main purpose of this study is to examine the effect of advertising puffery on consumers in the purchase decision process, in terms of consumer attitude, ad affect and purchase intention. Respondents were exposed to advertising communications material and subsequently participated in product trial and survey. Data analysis, through a series of statistical tests using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), was then carried out on the responses obtained. Results of our study revealed that puffery, though taken to be sheer exaggeration which no rational consumer would believe literally, was proven to inflate consumers’ product evaluation, leading to more favourable attitude and purchase intention. This demonstrates that even in today’s context, where consumers are presumably more discerning, puffery still has the potential to deceive. This warrants for stricter regulations by the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore on the use of puffery, to prevent fraudulent advertising by marketers. On the other hand, consumers should be wary of such claims to avoid falling victim to these persuasive intents.