To Initiate or Not: How Virtual Social Touch of Virtual Humans Affects User Perceptions in Marketing Interactions

Virtual humans have been widely adopted to serve as alternatives to human staff for user services. Although there is extensive research on the effect of virtual human realism on user responses, it remains unknown how virtual humans conveying virtual social touch affects user perceptions. Our study shows that the presence (vs. absence) of virtual social touch significantly triggers stronger perceived creepiness and intrusiveness toward virtual humans, thereby having a negative effect on the intention to interact. This effect is moderated by the individual social anxiety as well as the virtual human appearance and language style. For users with lower social anxiety, virtual humans with anime-like appearance and using informal language style, this negative perception caused by virtual social touch can be alleviated. These findings enrich the application of mind perception theory and provide theoretical and practical insights for the design and use of virtual humans in marketing interactions.