The negative effect of advertisement signs on consumers’ willingness to purchase

Advertisements (ads) are intended to increase individuals’ willingness to purchase and are usually expensive; thus, it would be counterproductive if an ad element actually decreased willingness to purchase. Online shopping platforms often present commodities with an advertising sign (e.g., “ad”) in the corner of their display pictures. Does this advertising sign itself increase or decrease consumers’ willingness to purchase? To address this question, we conducted seven studies. Studies 1 to 5 showed that participants had less willingness to purchase, recommend, or click on products with (vs. without) ad signs. Studies 6 and 7 revealed that participants felt the quality of products with and without ad signs was the same but they showed an implicit aversion to ads, suggesting that this unwillingness to purchase was rooted not in their explicit evaluation of the products but in their implicit disgust at ads. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.