Turns out physical stores make a difference. An Ohio State study has found that people are willing to pay more and are more likely to buy a mug they have touched, increasing in proportion to the amount of time they're in contact with the mug.
The strength of this attachment seems to increase with greater physical contact. And one explanation is loss aversion; that is, the longer people have an object, the stronger their attachment and their eagerness to keep it. People become attached and they are willing to pay much more to avoid losing that object,” Muhanna said.
There's a lesson in here for software products too. Try before you buy goes a long way. That's why Posterous's homepage prompts you to email us at post@posterous.com before you ever register. Touch it, try it, you'll like it.
via sciencedaily.com