Influences of Haptic Information on Consumers' Quality Expectations and Coupon Redemption Intentions

The author examines the effects of non-diagnostic haptic information (i.e., the paper stiffness) of promotional coupons on consumers' product quality expectations and coupon redemption intentions. On the basis of the two-stage information processing model, the author proposes that coupons printed on stiff paper will produce higher quality expectation and redemption intentions compared to those printed on soft paper. However, not all consumers or brands are equally affected by such non-diagnostic haptic cues. Results from experiment 1 show that consumers' level of autotelic NFT and brand familiarity moderate the relationship between the paper stiffness and quality expectations. Moreover, quality expectation mediates the effects of the paper stiffness on redemption intention. Further, by restricting cognitive resources, experiment 2 demonstrates that high-autotelic NFT consumers are less affected by the paper stiffness, because they are able to rule out its potential biases in the second stage of information processing. Thus, the findings of this research have both theoretical and managerial implications.