Emotional intimacy and user attributes: a case study of home context

Abstract

Although emotional relationships between product and user have been examined in various ways, user’s emotional experience is still unpredictable and puzzled since it is arbitrary as well as susceptible to context and environment. As a new concept of measuring emotion experience, we defined ‘emotional intimacy’ as psychic distance toward products in one’s mind. In this study, we tried to explore the emotional intimacy of household electronics in home context: 1) which user attributes influence the emotional intimacy and 2) how current emotional intimacy would be related to the repurchase intention of the product in the future in terms of symbolic, aesthetic and functional features. Fifteen participant from three different types of household participated in interviews in their home: single, couple, and couple with children. They were asked to assess the emotional intimacy of their household electronics, and how the emotional intimacy led to the repurchase intention of the product in the future. The results indicate that emotional intimacy has much to do with household type and gender. It also turned out that emotional intimacy influences the repurchase intention. Limitations and recommendations to a further study are discussed.