FashionTouch in E-commerce: An Exploratory Study of Surface Haptic Interaction Experiences

Fashion is a communicative, hands-on embodied practice. In the digital domain, however, fashion is hands-off – consumers cannot actively sense, perceive and apprehend tactile garment qualities online as they would in an offline setting. Innovations in haptic (active touch) technologies might change this situation, enriching visual and textual content with touch feedback. To date and to the authors’ best knowledge, recent research into the significance of haptic information in apparel e-commerce has not involved the use of haptic technologies. This qualitative exploratory study addressed the gap by using a novel surface haptic device to explore potential consumers’ reactions to the introduction of haptic feedback in a fashion e-commerce context. The study indicates that providing richer perceptual cues – tactile and visual – with interactive surface haptic effects, adds value to the fashion customer’s e-commerce journey, particularly at the information-gathering stage. The finding is moderated by the perceived risk of experiencing a disconnect between the digital touch experience and the actual garment feel.