Haptic Sensation and Consumer Behaviour: The Influence of Tactile Stimulation in Physical and Online Environments

Abstract

This book offers an overview of haptic sensation and its influence on consumers’ behaviour, especially in dual and mediated environments where products are accessible through an interface. After almost three decades, marketers have reached a critical understanding of the importance of consumers’ senses to the processing of brands, products and advertising information. Since the development of the internet, however, there have been questions as to how markets and consumers can reach out to products in different environments. Recent advances in technologies allow sensations to render or stimulate physical sensations similar to the handling of the same product. These emerging possibilities question the way consumers are and will be able to feel a product according to the reality it relies on. The book begins by defining and discussing haptic consumption, before introducing the challenge of appealing to consumers’ senses in the digital age and examining how marketing managers have overcome this tangible barrier to date. The authors go on to further investigate the role of interfaces in rendering tactile sensations, with a particular focus on technological innovations. Finally, the book presents the authors’ original research in the field and offers a prospective vision of consumption for the coming years.