Can I Touch the Clothes on the Screen? The Touch Effect in Online Fashion Shopping

Abstract

We examined the interplay effects of device types (touch vs. non-touch) and the tactile sensitivity (fur vs. woven) on the product attitudes mediated by the mental simulation for touch. The participants from MTurk were randomly assigned to one of two tactile conditions. Responses from those who used tablets (n=83, touch device) and laptops (n=96, non-touch device) were included in the analysis. The main effects of device types and tactile-sensitivity on the mental simulation for touch were significant. The interaction effect of device types and tactile sensitivity was also significant. Those participants seeing the less tactile-sensitive product showed greater mental simulation for touch when using a touch device (vs. non-touch device). However, those participants seeing the high tactile-sensitive product showed similar mental simulations for touch regardless of the device types. This indicates that using a touch device can strengthen the mental simulation for touch of a non-haptic centric product.