A teenager in Shanghai will wait in line for hours to get a Labubu doll. Meanwhile, a shopper in Ohio might drive across town to buy a robotic vacuum. Although buyers might call these products “cool,” research shows they do so for entirely different reasons.
A new study from Gerard Tellis, professor emeritus of marketing, suggests consumers have two primary definitions of “cool.” One type of cool refers to what a product signals about the owner’s status, while the other refers to the product’s utility. Understanding that distinction, the researchers argue, can help global brands decide which products to sell, where to sell them, and how best to market them.
With co-authors Gratiana Pol, CEO and co-founder of Hyperthesis, and Eden Yin, associate professor in marketing at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, Tellis surveyed 100 consumers across the United States, Germany, and China. Their findings, published in the Journal of International Marketing and titled “What Makes a Product Cool? Consumer Perceptions of Product Coolness Across Three Cultures,” identify two distinct paths to product appeal.
The first is personal: A product may be cool because its features are useful to the consumer or advanced enough to inspire awe. An example may be an artificial intelligence tool that eliminates a tedious task, or a self-emptying robotic vacuum.
The second is social: A product is cool because it signals cultural relevance and social cachet. Perhaps a celebrity is photographed with it, or an influencer features it in a video. Suddenly, owning the product signals social belonging. For example, the study explains that Labubu dolls sell out not because of what they do, but because Rihanna, Dua Lipa, or a friend already has one. Designer handbags work much the same way: the craftsmanship matters, but the status associated with the brand matters more.
Although Tellis’ research found that consumers in all three countries recognized both personal and social forms of coolness, buyers were more motivated by one factor over another. Consumers in the U.S. and Germany more frequently purchased products for their usefulness, while Chinese consumers were incentivized by items that conveyed social status.
The researchers connect these differences to a broader cultural distinction. Consumers surveyed in achievement-oriented cultures, such as the U.S. and Germany, seemed to prefer products that reflect individual accomplishment or inspire personal excitement. Customers in ascription-oriented cultures, such as China, preferred products associated with social standing and group affiliation. Chinese consumers were also more motivated to buy a product after others personally labeled it “cool.”
Despite these differences, the researchers found some common ground. Across cultures, genuinely useful products were more likely to stay cool over time, while products driven mainly by trends and social attention more rapidly lost their appeal.
Another consistent factor across all three countries was appearance. Consumers in the United States, Germany, and China all strongly associated an appealing visual design with coolness.
