Online Sensory Experiences: Consumer Reactions to Triggering Multiple Senses by Using Psychological Techniques and Sensory-enabling Technologies

In the current retailing landscape, the question is no longer whether a company should be online or not, but how a retailer can optimally market their offerings online. In contrast with physical retail environments, an online environment is still limited in sensory interactions. A traditional online retailer mainly makes use of two sensory channels to offer their customer an experience: the visual sense and the auditory sense. Since olfactory, haptic, and taste properties of the product cannot be inspected in this online environment, the expected result is a less complete mental image of the product, a higher perceived risk associated with the purchase, and a lower intention to purchase. Furthermore online store environment also lacks multisensory atmospheric cues that enables consumers to be fully immersed in any store atmosphere.

To compensate for this shortage of sensory input, an online retailer can choose to diverge from the traditional path of triggering the senses directly. In particular, the retailer can make use of the available senses (i.e., the visual and the auditory sense) to trigger imagination or perceptions of the absent senses (e.g., via mental imagery or cross-modal correspondences), and this with or without sensory-enabling technologies that can deliver sensory input and enriched experiences (e.g., VR, AR, haptic tablet, digital smell interfaces). There have been some initial efforts in integrating different sensory modalities online. For example, combining embodied VR devices with pleasant and congruent ambient scents to enhance sensory stimulation.

However, one should also be aware of the risk that triggering multiple senses may have adverse effects, such as sensory overload, leading to negative customer experiences. Furthermore, these methods (i.e., imagery, use of cross-modal correspondences, sensory-enabling technology) might not be readily available (in terms of financial investment as well as knowledge) to all types of online retailers.

Further research is thus still needed to be able to understand and create effective online multisensory experiences for the consumer, while considering these inhibitors. Besides traditional consumers’ self-reports, input from neuroscience techniques (e.g., eye-tracking, EEG, fMRI) should also be assessed.

In this Research Topic, we welcome contributions focusing on multisensory online experiences: how can these experiences be created and what effect do they have on consumer behaviour. Contributions may include, but are not limited to, following topics:

·        How sensory imagery, cross-modal correspondences, and/or sensory-enabling technologies enhance the online store environment/experience and affect consumer reactions (e.g., attention given, pleasure experienced, intent to revisit, intention to purchase);

·        Potential contributions should focus on consumer reactions in an online setting, but may measure this by means of self-report techniques as well as neuroscience techniques, with a special interest in contributions combining both techniques;

·        Potential contributions can, besides audio-visual stimuli, also focus on triggering olfactory, haptic and/or taste properties of products or environments in an online setting;

We also have a particular interest in contributions that not only focus on the benefits of triggering multiple senses in an online environment but also on the possible adverse effects, such as sensory overload and technology complexity.

Articles in the form of Original Research, Reviews and Brief Research Reports related to the above topics will be considered in this article collection.