Munz, Kurt P.and Vicki G. Morwitz (2019), "Not-so Easy Listening: Roots and Repercussions of Auditory Choice Difficulty in Voice Commerce," Paper presented at the Society for Judgment and Decision Making Conference Montreal, Canada.
Six experiments demonstrate that information presented by voice is more difficult to process than the same information in writing. As a result, auditory choosers are less able to differentiate choice options, leading them to choose recommended items more often, but also to defer choice at higher rates. Difficulty making comparisons contributes to these effects, reducing the impact of certain context effects. Voice presentation also negatively affects evaluations of single items when compared against a salient reference in memory, and thus may have important ramifications for decision makers using digital voice assistants for shopping.