Successfully launching new products on the market can be a challenge for companies. One of the factors predicting the success of new products is how atypical consumers perceive a new product to be. Existing studies in separate research domains have shown how individual factors can predict atypicality perceptions. Yet, no research to date has combined these individual factors to examine whether these are all the predictors for atypicality or whether there are more reasons underlying consumer perceptions of atypicality. With an exploratory, qualitative method, the current research examines the factors predicting consumers’ atypicality perceptions. The findings support the existence of seven factors that were previously identified in existing research, and reveal two new factors predicting atypicality perceptions. Moreover, we explore the relationships between these factors, product information that consumers need, and consumers’ emotions. The findings indicate that, only when consumers understand the product benefits, consumers are likely to experience positive emotions towards the product and need more information about its accessibility. Together, the current findings provide a framework that integrates different streams of literature on atypicality and sheds new light on the reasons why consumers perceive products as atypical.

Date Submitted: 2023-03-17