More Complex Is Better? The Impact of Product Image Visual Complexity on Consumer Responses in E‐Commerce Pages

Abstract

ABSTRACT Visual complexity is a critical factor for online sellers to design product images that capture consumer attention and elicit affective responses. Prior studies have overlooked the distinct roles and underlying mechanisms through which its various dimensions affect consumer emotional and cognitive responses. To address this gap, we employ two eye‐tracking experiments and one online experiment to examine the impacts of layout, element and color complexity on consumer emotional arousal and attentional effort while exploring the mediating effects of processing fluency. Analysis of both self‐reported and eye‐tracking data indicates that these visual complexity dimensions exert distinct effects, mediated differently by perceptual fluency and conceptual fluency. Specifically, all three dimensions negatively affect perceptual fluency, whereas only element and color complexity significantly impair conceptual fluency; layout complexity does not exhibit a comparable effect. Furthermore, perceptual fluency shows a negative association with both emotional arousal and attentional effort, especially for functional products. In contrast, conceptual fluency positively influences attentional effort but does not significantly affect emotional arousal. Theoretically, this study provides an integrated model that links different visual complexity dimensions to consumer responses through dual‐route fluency mechanisms. Practically, it offers actionable guidance for online stakeholders to strategically manage visual complexity in creating effective product display images.