Exploring In-store Digital Haptic Experience in Compact Retail Spaces
A Design Case for IKEA Sofa Shopping in a Small-store Format
Y. Lin (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
M.W.A. Wijntjes – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
M.E.H. Creusen – Mentor (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
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Abstract
This thesis investigates how digital haptic experiences can enhance or partially substitute physical product interaction in compact retail spaces. In IKEA’s smaller store formats, limited display capacity restricts physical trial, creating a gap between customers’ expectations to “see and feel” products and what can actually be experienced in‑store. Focusing on sofas as a high‑touch, high‑involvement category, the research asks how digital tools can support product exploration, imagination, and purchase commitment when physical trial is constrained.
A multi‑method approach was used. A survey across eight living‑room categories conducted in three markets(US, Spain, India) mapped need‑for‑touch across products and information types, positioning sofas at the extreme end of the spectrum and identifying a broader cluster of high‑touch, textile‑involving categories.
In‑depth interviews and in‑store observations then traced sofa shopping journeys and revealed a recognisable sequence of haptic assessment (sitting, pressing, stretching, pinching) through which customers assess comfort and perceived quality.
These insights informed the design and iterative refinement of a digital haptic prototype—the Touch Explorer—based on interactive cinematics that visually simulate cushion deformation and fabric movement in response to user input. The prototype was evaluated with customers and co‑workers to explore perceived diagnosticity, interpretation of cues, and the perceived role of the tool in the journey.
The findings show that sofas function as a high‑risk “stress test” for digital trialability: key decision attributes are haptically loaded, errors are costly, and emotional involvement is high. Digital haptic cues are most promising when they approximate how products behave when actually touched, using familiar actions (pressing, pinching) to show deformation and movement. Within the DAST framework, the Touch Explorer extends trialability beyond limited physical samples and positions co‑workers as “sensory translators”.
Instead of a replacement for actual sit, customers see it as a supporting, bridging touchpoint—useful for narrowing the range, compensating for missing displays, and reactivating haptic impressions across channels.
This research is exploratory and context‑bound to IKEA and sofas, but outlines a transferable research and design trajectory for digital haptics in other high‑touch categories.
For practice, future work at IKEA could: 1) implement the Touch Explorer in real small stores and quantitatively assess its impact on dwell time, consideration of non‑displayed variants, conversion, and returns, 2) extend the approach to other high‑touch categories and markets, and 3) further integrate the tool into co‑workers’ roles and service flows.
For academia, future research could 1) quantitatively compare different digital representations (e.g., hand vs. no‑hand, deformation parameters) in terms of haptic accuracy, 2) examine how individual differences such as Need for Touch and digital literacy shape adoption, and 3) explore multi‑sensory and perceptual mechanisms to build more precise mappings between visual deformation and perceived tactile qualities.
https://yh0-0.github.io/Touch-Explorer/touch-explorer/showcase.html
Touch Explorer, the interactive prototype for IKEA, developed as part of the graduation project.