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The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of online review’s tactile cues in consumer’s purchase intention, given the absence of direct experience in online shopping.

Based on four empirical studies, the authors examine the role of online review’s tactile cues in consumer’s purchase intention. A secondary data analysis on Taobao and three experiments were conducted.

First, this research demonstrates that tactile cues in online reviews are sure to have a significant influence on consumers’ purchase intention. Second, the purchase intention of consumers is easily influenced by the reviews of holistic tactile cues of the search product, which affects the final purchase intention through the way of outcome simulation. Consumers’ purchase intention is also easily influenced by concrete tactile cues of experience product, which affects the final purchase intention through the way of process simulation. Temporal distance is the boundary condition.

A seller should manage the order of online review or labels related to corresponding tactile cues, in order to encourage consumers to comment on the relevant tactile features. Besides, in the aspect of website design, a seller can also encourage consumers to image about the process and the result of using so as to promote his sales volume.

The conclusion may give a solution on how to deal with the absence of direct experience in online shopping.

There has been little research about the influences of others' tactile behaviors on consumers' behaviors. The authors focus the other tactile experience in online review. The previous studies on online reviews focus on the its influences of valence, quantity and sentiment polarity on the usefulness of reviews and sales volume. However, few studies are explored on contents of reviews. The authors focus on the content such as tactile cues.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive conceptual framework of visual-tactile interplay and consumer responses in brand, product and servicescape contexts.

This paper performs a literature review of visual-tactile interplay by reviewing prior research in marketing and psychology.

The review reveals that visual-tactile interplay provokes various consumer responses depending on whether brands, products or servicescapes are used. The paper develops a comprehensive conceptual framework mapping out visual-tactile interplay and the relationship with consumers’ cognition, emotions and behaviors.

A conceptual model was developed with a novel view on how visual and tactile cues can together influence consumer responses.

This paper shows how visual-tactile interplay is successful in brand, product and servicescape contexts and provides practical insight for firms into how to provoke consumers’ cognitive, emotional and behavioral responses.

This paper contributes to existing literature by developing a conceptual framework and model of visual-tactile interplay and consumer responses by drawing on research in marketing and psychology.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the sensory marketing activities in an outdoor out-store shopping environment.

The study synthesizes the existing literature to build up an integrative conceptual framework of sensory marketing from the supply-side perspective. An observational study then follows to demonstrate how sensory marketing has been implemented in an outdoor out-store shopping environment in Japan.

The study has proved that there is an outdoor out-store marketing environment where marketers use sensory cues to provide the information about their shops and products/services to their potential customers. When looking at each shop separately, the dominant sensory cues are the visual ones; however, in the outdoor out-store marketing environment of a shopping street as a whole, the combination of visual, audio, and tactile cues is a popular practice. In addition, it is observed that some outdoor out-store marketing practices are oriented toward the local cultural values.

Implications for shopping environments management are discussed.

The study extends the theories on shopping environments to an outdoor out-store context, and supports the implementation of experiential marketing and context marketing.

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the holistic nature of brand image for fashion-related products and to complete the initial stage of scale development, determining content validity, for a new brand image measure.

The conceptualization of brand image was based on a review of academic and industry literature and analysis of qualitative data from 11 in-depth interviews. To help assess content validity, four trained judges assessed the face validity of the initial 140 items generated; 137 scale items were retained.

Analysis of the interview data revealed that cognitive (mystery), emotional (intimacy) and sensory (sensuality) dimensions were important for brand image of fashion-related products. The results aligned with major themes proposed in the literature, but one additional theme (self-congruity) was uncovered. These findings support content validity of the brand image scale items.

The interviews were limited to female consumers in the Midwestern USA. The present study expands the existing brand image concept by identifying its multi-dimensional nature including sensory associations. Theoretically, an expanded brand image measure increases its explanatory power in empirical studies. In terms of practical implications, fostering cognitive, emotional and sensory dimensions is essential for creating an effective fashion-related brand image, which can enhance brand equity.

Past brand image scales have emphasized cognitive and emotional dimensions. The new scale items represent a more holistic measure of brand image, as they include a comprehensive sensory dimension. It will be the first brand image scale geared toward fashion-related brands.

Touch plays an important role in the evaluations of products. However, prior quantitative touch research does not present a holistic perspective of haptics. This study aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of haptic information that consumers attain from touch.

Adopting a qualitative research approach, semi-structured, depth interviews were conducted with industry experts.

Based on the findings, this research proposes a conceptual model of consumer haptic perception consisting of seven key influences, namely, the effects of haptic sensation, haptic perception, the influence of individual factors, the influence of external environmental factors, the multi-dimensionality of haptics, haptic cue congruity and haptic dominance.

This study suggests firms to understand the importance of consumers’ haptic perception as an opportunity to engage an individual’s heart and mind through information attained through touch.

This is the first study in marketing to propose a conceptual model of haptics comprising several new haptic influences. This model contributes to the emerging literature of sensory marketing by providing directions for future touch research by capturing the dynamic nature of haptics.

El tacto desempeña un papel importante en nuestras evaluaciones de los productos. Sin embargo, las investigaciones cuantitativas anteriores sobre el tacto no presentan una perspectiva holística de la percepción táctil. Este artículo pretende ofrecer una comprensión más completa de la información táctil que los consumidores obtienen del contacto.

Adoptando un enfoque de investigación cualitativa, se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas en profundidad con expertos del sector.

A partir de los resultados, esta investigación propone un modelo conceptual de la percepción táctil del consumidor que consta de siete influencias clave: Los efectos de la sensación háptica, la percepción háptica, la influencia de los factores individuales, la influencia de los factores ambientales externos, la multidimensionalidad de la sensación táctil, la congruencia de las pistas táctiles y la dominancia de la sensación táctil.

Este estudio sugiere a las empresas que comprendan la importancia de la percepción táctil de los consumidores como una oportunidad para captar el corazón y la mente del individuo a través de la información obtenida mediante el tacto.

Este es el primer estudio en marketing que propone un modelo conceptual de la percepción táctil que incluye varias influencias táctiles nuevas. Este modelo contribuye a la literatura emergente del marketing sensorial proporcionando direcciones para la futura investigación táctil al capturar la naturaleza dinámica del sentido del tacto.

触摸在我们对产品的评价中起着重要作用。然而, 在先前定量的触觉研究中并未呈现触觉的整体视角。本文旨在更全面地了解消费者通过触摸获得的触觉信息。

本文采用定性研究方法, 与行业专家进行了半结构化的深度访谈。

本研究提出了一个消费者触觉感知的概念模型, 其中包括七个关键影响因素：触觉的影响、触觉感知、个人因素的影响、外部环境因素的影响、触觉的多维性、触觉线索的一致性和触觉的主导性。

这项研究建议企业了解消费者触觉感知的重要性, 并将触觉信息传达作为吸引消费者心灵的机会。

这是营销领域首次提出触觉概念模型的研究, 该模型包含几种新的触觉影响因素。这个触觉概念模型通过捕捉触觉的动态特性为未来的触觉研究提供方向, 从而为新兴的感官营销文献做出了贡献。

This paper aims to develop an integrative framework based on a convergence of embodiment, ecological and phenomenological theoretical perspectives to explain the multiple processes involved in the consumers’ mining, processing and application of brand-related sensory data through a sensory brand experience (SBE).

This research adopts a qualitative method by using face-to-face in-depth interviews (retail managers and customers) and focus group interviews (actual customers) with 34 respondents to investigate SBEs in the context of Chinese shopping malls.

Results show that the brand data mined through multisensory cues (visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile and taste) in a brand setting are processed internally as SBEs (involving sensory impressions, fun, interesting, extraordinary, comforting, caring, innovative, pleasant, appealing and convenient), which influence key variables in customer–brand relationships including customer satisfaction, brand attachment and customer lovemarks.

This study has implications for current theory on experiential marketing, branding, consumer–brand relationships, consumer psychology and customer experience management.

Beverage serving affects consumers’ taste and price perceptions. Therefore, the correct selection of the presentation cues is essential when a consumer evaluates a product. This study aims to determine how haptic (weight) and visual (colour) cues of drinking vessels affect the taste and price perception of coffee.

The authors created three different experimental designs. Given that coffee is a popular drink among the younger population, the authors invited undergraduate students in the 18–24 age group into this study. The participants tasted the same coffee from cups differ in weight (heavy and normal) and colour (congruent, incongruent and neutral), after which their opinions about the taste and price were recorded.

According to the results, increasing the weight of the cup creates a more positive perception of the smell and density of the coffee. Moreover, coffee served in a heavy cup was perceived to be more expensive than in other cups. The authors also found that incongruent cups received a lower score in all evaluations regarding taste perception. In the final experiment, the authors used the weight and colour manipulations together. According to the participants, the most fragrant coffee was perceived from a heavy and congruent cup.

Small sample is one of the limitations of this study. Future studies could be conducted with bigger and more diverse sample using different kinds of coffee beans.

It will be appropriate for coffee producers to design the cups in light of the said results.

The paucity in the existing literature of sensory marketing studies using hot drinks is remarkable, especially takeaway coffee, which is becoming more popular with an increasing number of coffee chains, and needs to be examined in detail.

Photos are powerful tools to attract individuals’ attention and convey service experiences. Yet exactly how visual cues in a photo contribute to the perceptions of the staged servicescape, and how these perceptions inspire online booking/reservation behaviors, remains underexplored. Addressing the gap, this study aims to uncover (1) how perceptual information mediated by an online photo contributes to the formation of consumers' holistic perceptions of the service environment and (2) how such consumers' holistic perceptions further influence customers' online purchasing behaviors.

This research adopts an innovative crowdsourcing approach and refers to field data on consumers' online hotel booking behaviors to examine relationships among inferred servicescape dimensions, consumers' holistic perceptions of the mediated servicescape and their actual online booking/reservation behaviors (e.g. page-view and meta-click behaviors).

Confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis indicated that five mediated servicescape dimensions (i.e. color, lighting, furnishings, layout and style) contribute significantly to consumers' perceptions of the mediated servicescape (CPMS) and exert different impacts on CPMS. Connecting the crowdsourced rating and consumer behavioral data, CPMS is found to influence consumers' aggregated page-view and meta-click behavior, especially in the US market.

Building upon servicescape theory, the medium theory and the online booking literature, this research proposes a novel conceptual framework of CPMS to theorize the process by which visual cues in online photos contribute to CPMS and subsequent online purchase behaviors. Findings from this research extend Bitner's servicescape framework to mediated service contexts and provide practical implications for promoting service businesses.

This paper aims to examine how visual and haptic package design characteristics singularly and jointly affect consumers' brand impressions.

Integrating and extending design perception with congruence and fluency theories, the paper presents three research propositions that are tested in three studies. Bottled water serves as an example category with data provided by professionals and consumers.

Study 1 identifies key types of holistic bimodal designs (Modern, Big Grip, Prototypical‐Small, Boxy Billboards, and Prototypical‐Large) based on brand visual and haptic factors. Study 2 relates these types to unique single‐modal brand impressions. Study 3 determines how consumers evaluate brands depending on the semantic congruence between haptics and visuals. Except for the excitement dimension, brand evaluations are more positive under conditions of high rather than low congruence.

The findings are obtained for a single category (bottled water) using experiments designed to highlight and focus consumer attention on the formation of impressions. The findings may thus not fully reflect consumer responses in actual retail purchase situations.

The paper provides preliminary guidelines on how to utilize visual and haptic cues in the design of brand packages for stimulating desired consumer responses.

The work presented in this paper contributes to the literature on design‐based brand inferences and semantic congruence by integrating the visual with the haptic perspectives.

Despite a well‐established corporate identity construct there is still ambiguity and disorientation regarding the corporate visual identity construct. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the inconsistent use of terminologies such as “symbolism” and “corporate design” as well as pointing towards an insufficient conceptualisation of the corporate identity and visual identity construct vis‐à‐vis other sensory dimensions.

A review of existing categorisations and conceptualisations of the corporate identity and visual identity construct is provided.

The paper presents a remodelled corporate visual identity construct that takes a holistic sensory perspective and proposes the corporate sensory identity construct as a more adequate and flexible reflection of current business reality.

The paper offers fundamental guidance for managers regarding the integrated and holistic utilisation of a set of sensory communication activities as part of their corporate identity management.

This paper contributes to the further understanding of the complexity of corporate identity management by addressing additional sensory dimensions apart from visual identity management. Moreover, by stressing the particular relevance of music and sound, this paper stimulates the integration of the auditory dimension as additional facet of a communication tool kit.