"The sense of touch is our sense of truth"

Haupt is a consumer psychologist, marketing consultant at the Multisense Institute and author. He puts theoretical findings into practice and knows how to achieve lasting success by developing the right strategies.

In your book "Touch!", which you co-authored with Olaf Hartmann, you describe how powerful haptic effects can be in marketing. What is your most important insight?

We humans have evolved to want to touch things that appeal to us. This can already be observed in small children, but adults also like to pick up products if they radiate a certain value. Olaf Hartmann and I have developed the ARIVA model, which shows how the sales opportunities of products can be significantly increased through attention, recall, integrity, value and action - i.e. attention, memory, trustworthiness, appreciation and willingness to buy.

Simply put, does this mean that products with high-quality logos or packaging with tactile elements sell better than others?

You can definitely achieve a lot with the sensory design of packaging or logos. It is important in the buying process that we feel the need to pick up a product because we then tend to want to own it. And even if we don't buy it straight away, this increases our willingness to spend good money on it. Studies also show that we remember products much better if we have already touched and interacted with them.

What are the specific reasons why I want to touch or leave a product?

Of course, the product has to be relevant to me. For example, if I'm looking for a good perfume, there's a good chance that I'll take these products off the shelf. If the packaging or the bottle are tactilely refined, then that makes me curious and I want to take a closer look. Or I want to buy a fine wine as a gift. If the bottle is finished with luxurious-looking haptic elements and there is also a cardboard box that also feels classy and has a high-quality design, then my gut feeling immediately tells me: "This wine will taste classy. I've found the perfect gift". Researchers call the sense of touch the sense of truth for a reason.

Then all products should actually be packaged to a high standard.

A bar of chocolate on special offer probably not. But a good cosmetic product, a luxury item or a high-priced smartphone would. If the packaging conveys a certain value on the one hand, but also evokes associations that drive purchases on the other, this creates trust right from the start. High-quality products deserve high-quality packaging.

Some smartphones even come in such high-quality packaging that you don't even dare throw the packaging away.

Ideally, the packaging can even become a decorative item. But there are other examples, especially in the electronics sector: Sometimes high-quality technical devices are packaged completely lovelessly. You then subconsciously ask yourself: is the product even worth all the money it cost?

When I, as a manufacturer, think about the packaging or design of my products, what do I need to pay attention to?

First and foremost, it is important that the packaging is always designed to match the product and value proposition. Professional advice always helps to avoid mistakes. Scientific research agrees that people prefer to touch relief-like, textured surfaces. However, this does not mean that embossed packaging necessarily increases sales opportunities. A cream, for example, is supposed to smooth the skin - and embossing would be the wrong signal for this. Systematic advice ensures that scientific findings are transferred into practice as effectively as possible.

What examples can you think of where this doesn't work?

We often observe that manufacturers already have very specific ideas. We recommend never taking the second step before the first. It always starts with the following questions: What does the consumer want? How is the brand positioned? And what is the product promise? We then translate this into sensory codes, whereby not only the feel, but also the visual and color design, for example, play a role. The more congruent all sensory signals are, the higher the brain activity of potential buyers.

Can you quantify how much sales opportunities can be increased if all factors fit together perfectly?

What researchers always investigate are significant differences. It is safe to say that the probability of purchase increases - but not by how much across the board. In the magazine sector, there have been studies on the effect of ad specials in oversized format, and it was found that the unaided recall of potential buyers at the newsstand was 40 percent higher. However, such findings have led to almost all magazines suddenly being equipped with such extras. This example shows how important it is to act in a targeted manner. With systematic analysis and conception - this is our experience - producers will quickly realize that the investment in high-quality packaging and logos is worthwhile.

However, we now buy many products online, so we don't even have the chance to "come into contact" with them beforehand.

The challenge in online retail is of course different. While in bricks-and-mortar retail it is important to create an incentive to buy, when buying online it is equally important that customers do not return the product. On online platforms, I have to use the visual presentation to encourage people to buy. Our brain mentally simulates what we see, so we can imagine very well how something feels. But this expectation must not be disappointed in the end when I unpack the product at home.

And what do you recommend to producers for whom sustainability is important?

More and more people are paying attention to living responsibly. That's why sustainability is particularly important in the everyday consumer goods sector. Products and packaging can also be upgraded with natural materials. Manufacturers should clearly communicate which sustainable materials they use or what role recycling plays in this. With a luxury watch, however, such factors tend to take a back seat. If it suits the product, it is of course great if you can play the sustainability card. But the same applies here: positive effects will only be achieved if all sensory signals are congruent.

Mr. Haupt, thank you for your time and this interesting interview.