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Updated: Jan 9, 2026
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Tactile Vibrating Toolkit and Driving Simulation Platform for Driving-Related Research
Published on: December 18, 2020
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How surface texture affects consumers' willingness to pay: Evidence from smartphone covers
Yoshihiko Kadoya1, Mostafa Saidur Rahim Khan1, Honoka Nabeshima1
1School of Economics, Hiroshima University, Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima, Japan.
Plos One
|December 4, 2025
Summary
Consumers
Area of Science:
- Consumer Behavior
- Sensory Marketing
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Limited research on tactile impressions' impact on consumer valuation.
- Prior studies focused on visual and auditory cues.
- Surface texture's commercial relevance in product valuation is underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate tactile impressions' effect on willingness to pay (WTP) for smartphone covers.
- Analyze WTP variations across different surface textures and reference prices.
- Examine demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors influencing consumer valuation.
Main Methods:
- Survey data from 387 mall respondents evaluating four smartphone cover textures.
- Two reference price conditions (100 yen and 1,000 yen) were applied.
- Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analyzed consumer characteristics and WTP.
Main Results:
- Willingness to pay (WTP) increased with higher reference prices (price anchoring effect).
- Men, unmarried individuals, and those with hyperbolic discounting showed higher WTP for specific textures.
- Risk preference, smartphone usage, and impatience did not significantly predict WTP.
Conclusions:
- Firms can leverage textured products for premium pricing strategies.
- Sensory marketing, like in-store trials, can enhance consumer engagement with textured products.
- Study integrates tactile marketing with behavioral economics, highlighting sensory cues and time preferences in valuation.
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