Product Attractiveness Created by Thin-Bezels in Personal Computers

Abstract

Thin-bezel designs have rapidly penetrated the market for panel monitors, such as personal computers (PCs). However, surprisingly, little scientific evidence exists on the impact of thin bezels on consumer value. Therefore, this study examined the following hypothesis, targeting Japanese PCs; Thin-bezels enhance the product attractiveness of PCs. There are three main problems when using existing product designs for evaluation: (1) The knowledge obtained is limited to the attributes and their combinations included in existing designs; (2) Brand image biases may affect survey responses; and (3) the high number of design samples required to cover all combinations of attributes places a heavy burden on respondents. Therefore, we adopt an approach that generates a new design using orthogonal arrays. We extracted armrest, track, color, keyboard, and bezel as attributes and generated 18 design sample patterns. Attractiveness responses were obtained from an online survey and the above hypothesis was validated using a chi-square test. The effect of thin bezels was stronger among younger age groups and those with more frequent PC use. This is because consumers who are more familiar with the recent trend of thin bezels are more likely to find them appealing. Therefore, developing products with a higher emphasis on thin bezels is important for products targeting such consumers. Additionally, we confirmed that the evaluation of the red color was remarkably low in PCs. Practitioners tend to use chromatic colors to make products stand out; however, they should refrain from haphazardly using chromatic colors.