An Evaluation of the Need for Touch Scale and Its Relationship with Need for Cognition, Need for Input, and Consumer Response

Abstract

ABSTRACT Some people cannot buy products without touching them first, believing that doing so might generate more assurance and information and reduce uncertainty. The international consumer marketing literature suggests an instrument to measure consumers’ need for touching, called Need for Touch. This article analyzes if the Need for Touch structure is empirically consistent. Based on a literature review, we suggest six hypotheses to assess the nomological, convergent, and discriminant validity of the phenomenon. Data support four assumptions in the predict direction. Need for Touch is associated with Need for Input and with Need for Cognition. Need for Touch is not associated with traditional marketing channels. The results also show the dual characterization of Need for Touch as a bidimensional construct. The moderator effect indicates that when the consumer has a higher (versus lower) Need for Touch autotelic score, the experiential motivation for shopping plays a more (versus less) important role on impulsive motivation.