Neuromarketing: a historical review

Abstract

Neuroscience, the study of the brain and how humans process their daily activities, has always been part of other fields (such as neuropsychology in the psychological context). However, 2002 is known as the year neuromarketing was first coined by Professor Ale Smidts, describing it as the study of the brain and how it processes activities about consumer context (purchase behavior – how and why they buy). Further reviews showed that before coining the term, companies were already adopting neuromarketing through systems such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). To further demonstrate its essence, this review discussed its historical dimension, and findings show that it is a revolutionary area of marketing. Although limited empirical studies have been conducted within the context of neuromarketing, the review shows that it can address the challenges of reliability, validity, and generalizability that come with the conventional approaches in marketing research. However, it is suggested that the field of neuromarketing needs empirically-based works, urgently.