Touching the void

Abstract

Purpose. A major factor hampering the continuing and explosive rise of e-commerce, particularly for experience goods, is the lack of tactile information that could help to reduce uncertainty in consumer purchase decision making online. The paper aims to identify the specific touch-related properties worthwhile to enable in online retailing and the type of customer value that can be provided, as well as the drivers and barriers for consumer acceptance towards touch-enabling technologies for online shopping. Methodology. By means of consumer focus groups we address the research questions regarding touch-related properties, their value to consumers and the drivers and barriers for consumer acceptance by taking into consideration two specific touch enabling technologies. Findings. The study reveals that touch-enabling technologies can provide utilitarian and hedonic value to consumers, mainly at the pre-purchase stages in the path-to-purchase. Valuable applications conceived by consumers primarily pertain to offering information on material and geometric product properties. A hurdle for consumer adoption seems to be the necessity of a dedicated output device, such as a glove. Research limitations/implications. Due to the early development stage of the new technologies under investigation, this study is exploratory in nature. The findings should be validated in the future, once these technologies actually get introduced for online marketing purposes. Practical implications. This study aims to raise awareness among online retailers of marketing opportunities comprised in touch-enabling technology. Originality. We provide a first outlook with regards to future consumer acceptance of touchenabling technologies in online shopping and how and when such technologies can provide consumer value.

Digital Retail Challenges within the EU

“…There are several touch points along the customer journey depending on how complex the product is, whether the customer is utilizing all the options availed along the customer journey as expected (Planned customer journey) or unplanned customer journeys which are usually result of defective products or processes while trying to fulfil the customer order and mostly involve reverse shipping, exchange or refund. In recent literature, the customer journey is categorized into three major stages: Pre-purchase, Actual-purchase and Post-purchase [24]. During the prepurchase stage, the customer might discover the product (good or service) then researches about the product (specifications, terms of purchase, etc) and makes comparison.…”

Seeing as Feeling? The Impact of Tactile Compensation Videos on Consumer Purchase Intention

“…The sense of touch is one of the most prominent human senses [1]. In traditional offline purchasing activities, consumers always habitually touch the products in the store directly and feel their tactile characteristics (e.g., smoothness, pliability, etc.…”

Online consumer shopping behaviour: A review and research agenda

“…Internet shoppers abandon their buying carts because of need uncertainty (Ek Styvén et al, 2017). Internet shopping is much more high‐risk than standard shopping because the online retail atmosphere lacks the richness of cues readily available in offline retail settings, such as feeling or trying the products (De Canio & Fuentes‐Blasco, 2021; Rasty et al, 2021; San‐Martín et al, 2017; Van Kerrebroeck et al, 2017). This limits online sellers' capacity to impact and convenience customers with vibrant details.…”