The Illusion of Heft: Using Low-Cost Pseudo-Haptics to Increase Purchase Intent and Perceived Value in Virtual Retail
Pradeep Paraman, Wong Chee Hoo, Charles Ramendran SPR, Yifei Dong · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · 2026
The inability to physically interact with products remains a fundamental barrier to virtual commerce, particularly for weight—a key cue for quality and value. This study validates a low-cost, multisensory pseudo-haptic solution using standard VR controllers to simulate product weight. Through an experiment (N = 120) manipulating the control-display (C/D) ratio across 16 product categories, we demonstrate that pseudo-haptic “heft” significantly increases purchase intent and perceived value. This effect is serially mediated by perceived scarcity and is substantially stronger for hedonic (e.g., luxury goods) versus utilitarian products. The findings provide an evidence-based, hardware-agnostic design protocol (optimal C/D range: 0.6–1.4) for enhancing sensory marketing in virtual retail.