The real-exposure effect revisited — How purchase rates vary under pictorial vs. real item presentations when consumers are allowed to use their tactile sense

Benjamin Bushong, King, Camerer, and Rangel (2010) introduced the real-exposure effect (REE), which stipulates that compared with mere pictorial presentations, the physical presence of an appetitive item increases subjects' willingness to pay. In contrast to the original study, we extend the behavioral setting and incorporate the tactile sense of the subjects in the decision making context. Specifically, we examine the robustness of the REE for appetitive and non-appetitive items when subjects are explicitly invited to make direct contact with the real items as well as with the images of items. By means of observing binding choices of potential consumers inclusive of payments in controlled lab environments that resemble real shopping situations, our results (1) confirm a robust REE in terms of a significant increase in subjects' purchases under the real condition, (2) indicate that the REE holds even for the non-appetitive items, and (3) show that the subjects' familiarity with an item has a mitigating influence on the size of the REE.