We show that formats used by retailers to organize assortments into subcategories can enhance or encumber consumers’ learning and satisfaction. For more knowledgeable consumers, unexpected subcategory formats provide a newness cue, thereby increasing effort, learning and satisfaction with the...

Our research examines the role of prior knowledge in learning about really new products that make existing product knowledge obsolete. Those with higher prior knowledge incorrectly generalize from their knowledge of existing products in the same product market and assume that they already know...

We show that formats used by retailers to organize assortments into subcategories can enhance or encumber consumers' learning and satisfaction. For more knowledgeable consumers, unexpected subcategory formats provide a newness cue, thereby increasing effort, learning, and satisfaction. That is,...