Even Online Purchase of Viagra, Home Test Kits can Make People Embarrassed

People are often embarrassed when buying sensitive health care products, such as home test kits and medications for incontinence and sexual dysfunction, publicly. Interestingly, a new study by Aradhna Krishna, professor of marketing at Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, and colleagues has revealed that buying these healthcare products online can make one equally embarrassed.

Study co-author Kelly Herd, assistant professor of marketing at Indiana University in the US, said, "There is a misconception that buying products online insulates consumers from being embarrassed. But while the product may arrive at the doorstep discretely, the act of purchasing is what triggers the embarrassment. You still feel embarrassment because you're judging yourself. It's not about you even thinking about others judging you."

The research team initially set out to confirm their view that embarrassment is an emotion that also can be experienced in private settings, through a random online survey of 177 people who were asked to describe their own publicly and privately embarrassing experiences. A follow-up survey of 124 people presented them with a potentially embarrassing scenario involving purchasing an over-the-counter (OTC) medication for incontinence. The researchers found that the intensity of embarrassment felt did not lessen when the scenario involved a private, online purchase. But, it often was worse.

The research team conducted another study involving purchases of Viagra for impotence versus pleasure. They surveyed 304 men over the age of 35 years, reflecting the target market for the erectile dysfunction product. The intensity of embarrassment was higher when Viagra was purchased for impotence rather than for pleasure and was higher when purchased in public. The study findings suggest that sellers of sensitive health care products need to make consumers feel more comfortable when buying them.

The study appeared in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

Source: IANS