Display Trays That Invite Touch: What Research Says About Handling and Buying
A Journal of Consumer Research study found that simply touching a product makes people feel they own it and value it more. Here is how to turn that into a counter display tray that works.
Touch creates a sense of ownership
In 2009 Joann Peck and Suzanne Shu published “The Effect of Mere Touch on Perceived Ownership” in the Journal of Consumer Research. Simply touching an object increased how much people felt it was theirs, and for objects whose touch is pleasant or neutral, which covers most products, it also raised what they were willing to pay.
The authors point to retailers who encourage customers to pick products up, and they found that imagery prompting people to imagine ownership could partly substitute for touch, which is useful for online stores.
What a display tray is for
If touch helps sell, a good display tray is one that makes customers comfortable picking things up. Products scattered on a bare counter look unsorted, and customers are not sure they are allowed to handle them. Products set out in a tray look deliberately shown, and they are easy to pick up and put back in the same place.
A tray also sets a boundary. Staff can see at once which slot is empty, and the whole set can be carried to the back room at closing in one trip.
Height and angle
A flat tray on a waist-high counter makes customers look down. A tray angled at 12 degrees lifts the back edge so the front of each product faces the person standing there, and a three-height riser set keeps items at the back from hiding behind the ones in front.
Keep the rim low. Anything you want handled should lift out without clearing a high wall. For very small or high-value pieces you would rather not have lifted freely, consider a tray with an acrylic cover.
The tray's own surface sells
The study notes that the effect depends on the touch being pleasant. A leather or velvet tray makes the moment of picking up and putting down feel better than hard plastic does. Choose a tray colour that contrasts with the stock: gold jewellery on dark velvet, dark products on cream leather.
Start at the till
The place customers stand still longest is the till. A small tray of small items within reach, like our point-of-sale display tray, catches them while they have time to pick something up. See all display trays and the retail collection.
References
Peck, J. & Shu, S. B. (2009). The Effect of Mere Touch on Perceived Ownership. Journal of Consumer Research 36(3), 434-447. SSRN.
ScienceDaily (31 March 2009). Buyer Beware: Touching Something In A Store Increases Perceived Ownership.