Question

r.d. lawrence et al. found that a recommender system (rs)-an algorithm that generates personalized product suggestions for online shoppers- impacted consumer behavior and increased sales, a result that was corroborated by dokyun lee and kartik hosanagar. however, lee and hosanagar also determined that whereas an rs had a stronger positive effect on item views for utilitarian products (e.g., dish detergents) than for hedonic products (e.g., music albums), the rs had a stronger positive effect on likelihood of purchase for hedonic products than for utilitarian ones. information in the text best supports which statement about recommender systems? a) while recommender systems can affect consumer behavior toward suggested products, those effects are not uniform in nature and strength across product categories. b) by directing customers toward specific product categories on a retailers website, recommender systems may limit the variety of items seen by online shoppers. c) by proposing the most useful options to consumers, recommender systems boost the online visibility of utilitarian items that otherwise tend to be overlooked. d) while recommender systems cause consumers to spend more time viewing utilitarian items such as dish detergents, recommender systems positive effect on purchase rates is likely limited to hedonic items such as music albums.

Explanation:

The text states that recommender systems (RS) impact consumer behavior. It further differentiates the effects: RS has a stronger positive effect on item views for utilitarian products but a stronger positive effect on likelihood of purchase for hedonic products. This shows that the effects of RS are not the same (not uniform) across product categories (utilitarian vs hedonic) in terms of both nature (item views vs purchase likelihood) and strength (stronger in one aspect for one category and another aspect for the other category).

• Option A: Matches the idea that RS affects consumer behavior but the effects vary across product categories.
• Option B: There is no mention in the text about RS limiting the variety of items seen. The text is about the differential effects on item views and purchase likelihood for different product types, not about variety limitation.
• Option C: The text does not say that utilitarian items are “overlooked” otherwise. It just compares the effects of RS on item views for utilitarian vs hedonic products.
• Option D: The text says RS has an effect on both item views (for utilitarian) and purchase likelihood (for hedonic). It does not say the positive effect on purchase rates is “limited” to hedonic items in the sense that there is no positive purchase - related effect for utilitarian items. It just shows a difference in where the stronger effect lies (item views for utilitarian, purchase likelihood for hedonic).

Answer:

A) While recommender systems can affect consumer behavior toward suggested products, those effects are not uniform in nature and strength across product categories.