Do visual and haptic cues affect taste?

Abstract

Previous studies have found that touch input influences customer attitudes and behavior; however, most research in this area has focused on diagnostic rather than nondiagnostic input. The concept is that the perceptual transfer of haptic cues is from the product container to evaluation of the product itself. Two studies were conducted. The study1 (75 participants) tested whether high- or low-autotelic NFT consumers tended to incorporate haptic cues into their product evaluations. The study2 (153 participants) examined whether haptic cues influenced taste effects through the moderating role of the visual cues. In addition, this study also examined the moderating role of visual cues with 2 languages (Japanese and Chinese) in product packaging. The analysis was conducted using ANOVA. The experimental findings suggest that haptic and visual cues affect quality evaluations, brand attitudes, and purchase intentions. In addition, visual cues and the autotelic need for touch moderate the relationship among haptic cues, quality evaluations, and brand attitudes. The results have implications for product and packaging designers, not only regarding material attributes but also on the visual presentation of products.