The Effects of Storytelling on User Experience and Behavior-related Variables

Abstract

The emergence of brand stories helps build brands and enhance brand value. This study examines the effects of storytelling on user experience (UX) with an online shop and identifies its effects on brand- and behavior-relevant variables. The results obtained indicate that the use of storytelling in an online shopping context enhances the website's performance in terms of hedonic and pragmatic UX and overall attractiveness. Explicit and implicit brand attitude and explicit and implicit ecological sustainability, explicit social sustainability and the behavioral variable of the willingness to pay a higher price for the products of the brand reached higher scores under the condition of storytelling. Moreover, the implicit and explicit ecological sustainability and implicit social sustainability were increased through the condition. In addition, implicit brand attitudes and behavioral intentions were increased, as well as implicit ecological and social sustainability. The present results add significant empirical insights to the literature on the underlying mechanisms of storytelling, which is related to UX, brand-related outcomes and the interrelation between these variables. Hence, the present study further provides a more holistic understanding of human perception and behavior in online contexts.