Independent and Additive Effects of Color and Mascots on Visual Attention in Shopping Apps: An S-O-R Eye-Tracking Study

(1) Background: In the competitive landscape of shopping apps, strategically combining visual elements like color and mascots is crucial for capturing user attention. However, it remains unclear whether their effects are independent, synergistic, or stable, a gap that limits evidence-based design. This study is grounded in the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework. It investigates how color and mascots, as external stimuli, influence users’ internal attentional state (the organism), which in turn precedes behavioral responses. (2) Methods: Using eye-tracking technology, we conducted a mixed-design experiment with 82 participants. They viewed six sets of authentic app stimuli (icons, launch screens, promotional posters) across colored and non-colored conditions, with or without mascots. Fixation duration and count served as objective measures of attentional engagement. (3) Results: Results revealed significant main effects for both mascots (F(1, 80) = 57.976, p < 0.001) and color (F(1, 80) = 5.010, p = 0.028) on attention. Crucially, their interaction was non-significant (p = 0.450), indicating independent and additive effects. The mascot effect remained robust in both colored and non-colored conditions. (4) Conclusions: The findings, interpreted through the S-O-R lens, suggest that color and mascots operate via distinct pathways in shaping attentional engagement. This supports a hierarchical design strategy: mascots form a stable, foundational attentional attractor, while color provides an independent, enhancing layer. This mechanistic understanding offers a theoretical and practical guide for optimizing visual appeal in app design, particularly for the young, digitally native user demographic that constitutes the core market of the studied platforms.