A Touch of Words: Influencing Consumers’ Purchase Intentions Using Touch-Describing Adjectives in Digital Advertisements

Abstract

The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate whether touch-describing adjectives in a digital advertisement can trigger consumers purchase intention. We answer this question by conducting an online survey-based experiment, and first find that consumers’ need for touch moderates the effect of touch-describing adjectives on perceived physical control. Secondly, we find that perceived physical control and perceived ownership mediate the effect of touch-describing adjectives on purchase intention. Further, we find that there is a positive total effect of touchdescribing adjectives on purchase intention. Finally, we see an indication that arousal has a moderating effect on the relationship between touch-describing adjectives and perceived physical control. These findings contribute to extending the existing theoretical framework developed by Peck, Barger and Webb (2013) in their article; “In Search of a Surrogate for Touch: The Effect of Haptic Imagery on Perceived Ownership”. In addition, it is of relevance for businesses looking to find new ways to influence their customers through digital advertisements.