Fundamentals of Haptics and Touch Marketing

Science of touch

Haptics

Largest organ in the human body

The skin

Key physical rule of touch

You can't touch something without being touched yourself.

Aristotle's view on touch

Exact discrimination of touch makes humans the most intelligent animals.

2003 Illinois Attorney General warning

Warned holiday shoppers to be cautious regarding retailers.

Endowment effect trigger

Simply imagining touching an object.

Land's End catalog sales drop

Sales dropped $100M when print catalogs stopped because print triggers ownership imagery.

Marketing message delivered on paper

Builds better memories, first impressions, and 3-to-1 recall after a week.

Information delivered on paper

Yields a better level of comprehension and retention.

Physical nature of paper

Its quality unconsciously influences our decisions.