Touching the Future: The Effects of Gesture-Based Interaction on Virtual Product Experience

With the popularity of touchscreen tablets and gesture control devices, the role of touch in online consumer behavior has become increasingly important. This study aims to investigate how sense of touch evoked by various interaction modes (i.e., mouse-driven interaction, touchscreen gesture interaction and mid-air gesture interaction) influences virtual product experience. Drawing on Feelings-as-Information Theory and CognitiveAffective Framework in virtual product experience, we propose that sense of touch could influence consumer purchase intention by reducing product uncertainty and improving product attachment; furthermore, these effects are contingent on product characteristics, i.e., importance of product haptics and product valence. Accordingly, two lab experiments are designed. Potential theoretical contributions, practical implications as well as future research directions are discussed.