Conveying product weight in digital media using a hand image

Subhash Jha, M.S. Balaji and Joann Peck

Journal of Retailing, 2023, vol. 99, issue 3, 353-369

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.

Keywords: Hand image; Unsupported holding; Weight; Haptic imagery; Weight judgment confidence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jouret:v:99:y:2023:i:3:p:353-369

DOI: 10.1016/j.jretai.2023.07.001

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