Persuasive Virtual Touch: The Effect of Artificial Social Touch on Shopping Behavior in Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) technology affords powerful influences on human behavior and thinking through symbiotic interaction between the VR environment and the human user. Earlier research indicated that in a real bookstore, a slight touch by the welcoming shop assistant on the shopper's upper arm positively influenced consumer behavior. To investigate effects of artificial social touch in VR, participants were asked to shop in two virtual shops (in random order). The virtual shop assistant touched participants (shoppers) on the upper arm (through an actuator on participant's arm) while greeting, or, in the other shop, identically greeted participants without touching them. Results showed that in the shop in which participants were touched by the virtual shop assistant, they spent more time, more money on purchasing and their overall shopping experience evaluation was more positive. Findings confirmed that the illusion of virtual social touch can be established in VR and contributed that VR employing artificial social touch can be effective in influencing consumer behavior.