IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jouret/v99y2023i3p353-369.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Conveying product weight in digital media using a hand image

Author

Listed:
  • Jha, Subhash
  • Balaji, M.S.
  • Peck, Joann

Abstract

The present research examines the role of the image of a hand in an online product evaluation. Through eleven studies (i.e., six in the manuscript and five in the Web Appendix), we show that, when a hand image is depicted in an unsupported holding position (i.e., lifting a product), consumers’ confidence in their judgment of the product's weight is enhanced. This outcome increases product evaluation, purchase intention, and product choice. The hand image effect is mediated by a mental representation of a haptic experience (i.e., haptic imagery). Additionally, we show that an image of a hand in an unsupported holding position increases consumers’ confidence in the product's weight, while other hand positions or their absence do not have a similar impact. Online retailers can use our findings to employ hand images to influence the evaluations and purchase intentions of products in which weight is a salient haptic attribute.

Suggested Citation

  • Jha, Subhash & Balaji, M.S. & Peck, Joann, 2023. "Conveying product weight in digital media using a hand image," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 99(3), pages 353-369.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jouret:v:99:y:2023:i:3:p:353-369
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretai.2023.07.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022435923000295
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretai.2023.07.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Aradhna Krishna & Maureen Morrin, 2008. "Does Touch Affect Taste? The Perceptual Transfer of Product Container Haptic Cues," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(6), pages 807-818, October.
    2. Jha, Subhash & Balaji, M.S. & Peck, Joann & Oakley, Jared & Deitz, George D., 2020. "The Effects of Environmental Haptic Cues on Consumer Perceptions of Retailer Warmth and Competence," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(4), pages 590-605.
    3. Imschloss, Monika & Kuehnl, Christina, 2019. "Feel the Music! Exploring the Cross-modal Correspondence between Music and Haptic Perceptions of Softness," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 95(4), pages 158-169.
    4. MacInnis, Deborah J & Price, Linda L, 1987. "The Role of Imagery in Information Processing: Review and Extensions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 13(4), pages 473-491, March.
    5. Petit, Olivia & Velasco, Carlos & Spence, Charles, 2019. "Digital Sensory Marketing: Integrating New Technologies Into Multisensory Online Experience," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 42-61.
    6. Liu, Wumei & Batra, Rajeev & Wang, Haizhogn, 2017. "Product Touch and Consumers’ Online and Offline Buying: The Role of Mental Representation," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 93(3), pages 369-381.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yazdanparast, Atefeh & Ketron, Seth, 2023. "The effect of color lightness on anticipated product comfort: The role of the lightness-softness cross-modal correspondence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    2. Petit, Olivia & Javornik, Ana & Velasco, Carlos, 2022. "We Eat First with Our (Digital) Eyes: Enhancing Mental Simulation of Eating Experiences via Visual-Enabling Technologies," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 277-293.
    3. Banik, Shanta & Gao, Yongqiang, 2023. "Exploring the hedonic factors affecting customer experiences in phygital retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    4. Pathak, Kanishka & Prakash, Gyan, 2023. "Exploring the role of augmented reality in purchase intention: Through flow and immersive experience," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    5. Abhishek, 2015. "Will you buy if others touch it? Evaluation of products touched by others during shopping," IIMA Working Papers WP2015-03-13, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    6. Madzharov, Adriana V., 2019. "Self-Control and Touch: When Does Direct Versus Indirect Touch Increase Hedonic Evaluations and Consumption of Food," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 95(4), pages 170-185.
    7. Pantoja, Felipe & Borges, Adilson & Rossi, Patricia & Yamim, Amanda Pruski, 2020. "If I touch it, I will like it! The role of tactile inputs on gustatory perceptions of food items," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    8. Saintives, Camille, 2020. "Guilt online vs. offline: What are its consequences on consumer behavior?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    9. Adilson Borges & Felipe Pantoja & Patricia Rossi & Amanda Yamim, 2020. "If I Touch It, I will Like It! The Role of Tactile Inputs on Gustatory Perceptions of Food Items," Post-Print hal-02507986, HAL.
    10. Jha, Subhash & Balaji, M.S. & Peck, Joann & Oakley, Jared & Deitz, George D., 2020. "The Effects of Environmental Haptic Cues on Consumer Perceptions of Retailer Warmth and Competence," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(4), pages 590-605.
    11. Kim, Minjeong & Kim, Jung-Hwan & Park, Minjung & Yoo, Jungmin, 2021. "The roles of sensory perceptions and mental imagery in consumer decision-making," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    12. Silva, Susana C. & Rocha, Thelma Valeria & De Cicco, Roberta & Galhanone, Renata Fernandes & Manzini Ferreira Mattos, Luiza Tari, 2021. "Need for touch and haptic imagery: An investigation in online fashion shopping," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    13. Lazaris, Chris & Vrechopoulos, Adam & Sarantopoulos, Panagiotis & Doukidis, Georgios, 2022. "Additive omnichannel atmospheric cues: The mediating effects of cognitive and affective responses on purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    14. Racat, Margot & Capelli, Sonia & Lichy, Jessica, 2021. "New insights into ‘technologies of touch’: Information processing in product evaluation and purchase intention," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    15. Aydınoğlu, Nilüfer Z. & Krishna, Aradhna, 2019. "The power of consumption-imagery in communicating retail-store deals," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 95(4), pages 116-127.
    16. Imschloss, Monika & Kuehnl, Christina, 2019. "Feel the Music! Exploring the Cross-modal Correspondence between Music and Haptic Perceptions of Softness," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 95(4), pages 158-169.
    17. Ana Cláudia Amaro & Luisa M. Martinez & Filipe R. Ramos & Karla Menezes & Silvio Menezes, 2023. "An overstimulated consumer in a highly visual world: the moderating effect of the highly sensitive person trait on the attitude towards the ad," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 1429-1458, September.
    18. Som Sekhar Bhattacharyya & Arvind Sahay & Arunaditya Sahay, 2022. "The Quest for Competitive Advantage: The Role of Technology Depth and Breadth at the Customer Interface," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 47(4), pages 274-287, December.
    19. Ishikawa, Yoshiko & Okada, Erica Mina, 2021. "Hedonic Alternatives in a Simple Choice Context," Hitotsubashi Journal of commerce and management, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 54(1), pages 1-14, January.
    20. Mutlu Yuksel Avcilar & Akin Alkevli, 2017. "The Antecedents of Mobile Repurchasing Intentions: An Empirical Investigation among Turkish Mobile Shoppers," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(3), pages 105-105, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jouret:v:99:y:2023:i:3:p:353-369. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.