The Effects of Swiping Orientation on Preference and Willingness to Pay: The Interaction Between Touch Interface and Need-For-Touch

Abstract

The current study examined the influence of individual trait such as Need-For-Touch level (NFT; high vs. low) and swiping orientation (vertical vs. horizontal) on product evaluation and preference when using touch-screen interface like a smart phone and a tablet. Swiping is one of the most common interaction techniques for changing pages or searching some aligned pictures on touch-screen interface and it can be used in vertical and horizontal orientations. The experiment revealed a significant interaction between swiping orientation and NFT on preference, however the interaction on change-in-price of given products was only marginally significant. To be specific, high NFT participants reported higher preference for horizontal-swipe than vertical-swipe products, but such difference did not occur with low NFT participants. The current study illustrates the influence of swiping orientation and NFT on product preference and it provides a new perspective of design principles especially for online shopping websites.