Factors Affecting Human Visual Behavior and Preference for Sneakers: An Eye-Tracking Study

Front Psychol. 2022 Jun 13:13:914321. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.914321. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Human visual behavior on a product significantly affects their purchasing behavior during online shopping. In this study, two experimental studies were performed to investigate human visual behavior and preference for sneakers using an eye tracking technology. The first study discovered that shoelace and vamp areas of interests (AOIs) attracted more attention than the other AOIs. The second study explored the factors affecting human behavior on sneakers, which employed 30 students from different professional backgrounds (i.e., such as fashion and non-fashion disciplines), and examined 24 sneakers, i.e., combinations of four shoelace styles and six vamp materials. The results showed that both genders irrespective of their professional backgrounds were more concerned about the shoelaces than vamps. The shoelace AOI gained more attention of females than males, while the vamp AOI was more concerned by males than females. The vamp AOI was more concerned by non-professionals than professionals, while the shoelace AOI was paid more attention by professionals than non-professionals. Besides, flat or round shoelaces, canvas, and cow leather or cotton flannel vamp materials were more preferred by the participants than the other types. The findings are of great help for the fashion product designers, the manufacturers, and the sellers to provide the product required by the customers.

Keywords: education background; eye-tracking; gender effect; preference; sneaker design; visual behavior.