Online consumers’ brain activities when purchasing second-hand versus new products that are brand-name or brand-less

Abstract

It is now common to apply functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore which areas of the human brain are activated during the decision-making process. In the study of consumer behaviors, product brand has been identified as a major factor affecting consumer purchase deci-sions. Prior studies indicate that the brand had a significant impact on brain activation. However, it is unsure if consumers’ brain activation is also significant when purchasing brand-name second-hand products (SHPs). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to verify the areas of brain neuron activation in the context of online auctions among consumers whose purchasing decisions are af-fected by an SHP’s brand. The results show that a brain region (i.e., the medial prefrontal cortex) activates significantly when comparing the purchasing decision-making process between new items and SHPs. The activation of the insula is also found when an SHP purchasing decision is made. In addition, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is activated significantly when purchasing brand-name SHPs. However, due to consumers’ preferences for different brands, there is no significant activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.