John Costello
Marketing
John W. Berry Sr. Associate Professor of Marketing
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Consumer behavior
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Branding
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Messaging
Costello’s Latest News
Costello in the News
Research: How School Shootings Are Felt in Local Economies
August 04, 2025
John P. Costello is the John W. Berry Sr. associate professor of marketing at the Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame.
Forbes
Why Letting Customers Keep Their Returns Creates Loyalty
July 31, 2025
"Increased brand support generated through returnless returns can sometimes be greater than the support generated when a consumer appears to be happy with a product and does not initiate a return," notes researcher Christopher Bechler. "Drawing from our theory that offering returnless product returns boosts brand support because they increase brand warmth, we find that returnless policies implemented on a case-by-case basis are actually more effective for a couple of reasons," John Costello said. "The consumer feels they are getting special treatment."
The Conversation
School shootings leave lasting scars on local economies, research shows
July 28, 2025
John Costello, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Notre Dame
Retail Wire
Are 'Just Keep It' Return Policies Loyalty Builders?
July 28, 2025
“The consumer feels they are getting special treatment,” said John Costello — an associate professor of marketing at the University of Notre Dame, and one of the paper’s co-authors — in a statement. “Also, because they are getting human interaction rather than an automatic e-mail, the customer feels additional warmth toward the brand. So, increasing the level of ‘humanness’ in digital interactions has proven beneficial.”
The Wall Street Journal
Why 'Returnless Returns' Can Pay Off for Companies
July 24, 2025
The researchers only studied returnless returns for relatively low-cost items. But within that constraint, the positive effects were “robust” for a range of products in the study at different price points, from a ballpoint pen to a sweater, says John Costello, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Notre Dame and one of the paper’s co-authors.
Study Finds
‘Returnless Returns’ Make Customers More Loyal To Brands
June 24, 2025
According to new research from the University of Notre Dame, “returnless returns” can boost customer loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, and future purchases. This policy allows customers to keep the products they want to return, but still get a refund.
Michiana Business News
Returnless returns policy boosts brands
June 23, 2025
Returnless returns can increase brand support by fostering goodwill, according to John Costello and Christopher Bechler, assistant professors of marketing at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.
phys.org
'Returnless returns' boost brands among consumers
June 19, 2025
Returnless returns can increase brand support by fostering goodwill, according to John Costello and Christopher Bechler, assistant professors of marketing at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.
Bearing Arms
Study Looks at Economic Impact of School Shootings
June 11, 2025
The first large-scale empirical evidence that fatal school shootings can impact routine consumption behaviors like grocery shopping and dining out, “How Fatal School Shootings Impact a Community’s Consumption” is forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing Research from John Costello, assistant professor of marketing at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.
Bloomberg
Time or Money? What’s a Better Investment as Election Heats Up
July 29, 2024
In general, campaigns value money they can spend to pay staff and buy advertising over time spent volunteering, according to John Costello, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Notre Dame who has studied the decision making of donors to charities and political groups.
The Food Tech
Tendencia de mensajes alcistas atraen a consumidores
June 09, 2023
Así lo dieron a conocer investigadores con sede en Estados Unidos, en específico el autor del artículo John Costello, profesor asistente de marketing en la Universidad de Notre Dame, de dicho país.
Nutrition Insight
Optimism prevails: Uptrend messaging promotes healthier consumer behavior, study finds
May 10, 2023
“We find that uptrend messaging can be used to encourage healthy behaviors that improve consumer quality of life,” lead author John Costello, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Notre Dame, US, tells NutritionInsight.
Management Today
Better to be cool than 'kool'
April 20, 2023
In a new study, Walker and John Costello, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Notre Dame, found that consumers deemed these tactics to be marketing gimmicks, and the brands insincere.
The Wall Street Journal
Should Companies Use Unconventional Spellings for Products? It Isn’t Always Klear
April 17, 2023
“Companies and marketing firms spend a lot of time and money trying to come up with names, but they aren’t always aware that unconventional spellings may negatively impact customers’ initial perceptions of the brand or company,” says John Costello, an assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business and one of the paper’s co-authors.
MediaPost (subscription)
Misspelled Brand Names: Pro Or Con?
March 14, 2023
John Costello, assistant professor of marketing at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, isn't too sure.
ZME Science
“Lift” not “Lyft” — alternative spellings perceived as insincere and disliked by consumers
March 13, 2023
The study was carried out by John Costello, assistant professor of marketing at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, along with Jesse Walker and Rebecca Walker Reczek from Ohio State University.
Fast Company
What do Lyft and Krispy Kreme have in common? This—and consumers hate it
March 10, 2023
“Consumers perceive unconventionally spelled names as a persuasion tactic or a marketing gimmick, leading them to view the brand as less sincere,” lead researcher John Costello told Notre Dame News.
Cosmos Magazine
Misspelld, misconceivd. Uniquely spelld brand names don’t sell
March 09, 2023
“We discreetly observed and recorded participants’ seltzer sampling choices to measure the impact of an unconventionally spelled brand name on real product choice,” says lead author John Costello, assistant professor of marketing at Notre Dame.