Enhancing consumer product attitude through touch device interactions: the role of mental simulation

As mobile commerce rises, touchscreens have become the primary interface through which consumers engage with products. We investigate how touch device interactions shape consumer attitudes and identify mental simulation, or the process of imagining oneself using a product, as the underlying mechanism. We demonstrate that interacting with products on touch devices enhances product liking, even in the absence of choice tasks or haptic relevant features. The effect generalizes across product categories and is mediated mental simulation. These findings extend grounded cognition theory to digital environments, highlighting how everyday device interactions can shape consumer evaluations.