Title: Comparison of the consumers' need for touch in terms of high-touch and low-touch products in online and offline retail stores

Authors: Kalender Özcan Atilgan; Murat Bayindir

Addresses: Department of Business Information Management, Erdemli School of Applied Technology and Management, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey ' Department of Business Information Management, Institute of Social Sciences, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey

Abstract: In the current marketing literature, sensory marketing as an innovative marketing strategy has a growing interest. In order to manage sensory marketing effectively, it is crucial to handle each sensory stimuli in detail. Among the five senses, touch and its' effects on consumer behaviour have long been ignored in marketing literature. Based on the limited theoretical and empirical grounds of haptic (touch) issues, this study aims to empirically investigate the differences of need for touch between online and offline retail stores for high-touch and low-touch products. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test for differences among treatment groups. According to the results of the study, there was only a statistically significant difference in the context of the need for autotelic touch among the groups examined in the study. In the conclusion, some suggestions for future research and for the retailer and marketing managers are put forward.

Keywords: need for touch; high-touch products; low-touch products; consumer behaviour; online retail store; offline retail store.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEMR.2023.127278

International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, 2023 Vol.14 No.1, pp.23 - 38

Received: 15 Mar 2021
Accepted: 16 Jun 2021
Published online: 30 Nov 2022 *