The Bright Side of Disorganization: When Surprise Generates Low-Price Signals

Contemporary retail studies have tended to discover how the organization of displays can evoke increased consumer attention. This paper assumes that there are conditions in retail that make the organization of exhibitions unfeasible. Thus, the purpose is to examine how disorganization cues shelf displays foster surprise through information search and the implications of that process for visualizing low-price signals. In three studies (two in the laboratory and one in the field), empirical evidence is presented that disorganization cues can generate an increase in information search generated by cognitive processing, increased emotional surprise manifested levels via schema discrepancy, and perception of low-price provoked by the attempt to reduce the risk of choice.