How Does Interaction Shape the Way We Value Luxury Online?
How Does Interaction Shape the Way We Value Luxury Online?
Native Gesture Interaction on Perceived Value and Purchase Intention in Luxury E-Commerce
Native Gesture Interaction on Perceived Value and Purchase Intention in Luxury E-Commerce
Selected for BritCHI 2026
Selected for BritCHI 2026
Problem
In a luxury store, value is felt more than proven (Vigneron & Johnson, 2004). You handle the product, and the brandโs service surrounds it. Online, that gap is huge. Shoppers mostly see selected photos or preset rotations, and none of the six accessible-luxury brands I audited let them inspect the product interactively. So I asked: if the way we interact changes, can it change how that gap feels?
The Study
I built the same luxury product page twice: one you control with a mouse, one with your hands. Ten people used both. Does hardware-free webcam gesture raise perceived value and purchase intention, compared with a pointer?
Problem
In a luxury store, value is felt more than proven (Vigneron & Johnson, 2004). You handle the product, and the brandโs service surrounds it. Online, that gap is huge. Shoppers mostly see selected photos or preset rotations, and none of the six accessible-luxury brands I audited let them inspect the product interactively. So I asked: if the way we interact changes, can it change how that gap feels?
The Study
I built the same luxury product page twice: one you control with a mouse, one with your hands. Ten people used both. Does hardware-free webcam gesture raise perceived value and purchase intention, compared with a pointer?
Context
MSc Major Project, Kingston University
Role
Solo UX Researcher &
UI Designer
Scale
4 studies ยท
23 participants
Timeline
2026 JUN-SEP
Context
MSc Major Project, Kingston University
Role
Solo UX Researcher &
UI Designer
Scale
4 studies ยท
23 participants
Timeline
2026 JUN-SEP
Before testing, I made four predictions.
Before testing, I made four predictions.
With gesture, three things should go up, and one should go down.
With gesture, three things should go up, and one should go down.
Feels more enjoyable
Hedonic Quality
Feels more enjoyable
Hedonic Quality
Feels more valuable
PERVAL ยท Emotional Value
Feels more valuable
PERVAL ยท Emotional Value
More likely to buy
Purchase Intention
More likely to buy
Purchase Intention
Harder to use
Pragmatic Quality
Harder to use
Pragmatic Quality
The Research Pipeline
The Research Pipeline
Designed, then frozen, then tested
Designed, then frozen,
then tested
Double Diamond set the stages. Lean UX kept me iterating. But an experiment needs every participant to see the same design, so I froze the hi-fi on 18 Aug and tested it once.
Double Diamond set the stages. Lean UX kept me iterating. But an experiment needs every participant to see the same design, so I froze the hi-fi on 18 Aug and tested it once.
Literature Review
Literature Review
The pieces exist.The test doesnโt.
The pieces exist. The test doesnโt.
Luxury is bought on perception, not function.
Value rests on status, identity and pleasure far more than utility, so how a product is experienced shapes what it feels worth.โจVigneron & Johnson, 2004
The store sells craft. The screen sells photographs.
Online, material and craft shrink to static images, and that experience is far less studied than the store. Guzzetti et al., 2024
Touch raises value. Even a watched hand does.
Touching a product raises what people will pay, and watching a hand do it on screen can too. Your own hand, in the air? Untested.โจPeck & Shu, 2009; Luangrath et al., 2022
High control needs hardware. Easy access means a mouse.
Webcams can now track bare hands, yet I found no consumer study of them.โจChang et al., 2023
Luxury is bought on perception, not function.
Value rests on status, identity and pleasure far more than utility, so how a product is experienced shapes what it feels worth.โจVigneron & Johnson, 2004
The store sells craft. The screen sells photographs.
Online, material and craft shrink to static images, and that experience is far less studied than the store. Guzzetti et al., 2024
Touch raises value. Even a watched hand does.
Touching a product raises what people will pay, and watching a hand do it on screen can too. Your own hand, in the air? Untested.โจPeck & Shu, 2009; Luangrath et al., 2022
High control needs hardware. Easy access means a mouse.
Webcams can now track bare hands, yet I found no consumer study of them.โจChang et al., 2023
Luxury is bought on perception, not function.
Value rests on status, identity and pleasure far more than utility, so how a product is experienced shapes what it feels worth.โจVigneron & Johnson, 2004
The store sells craft. The screen sells photographs.
Online, material and craft shrink to static images, and that experience is far less studied than the store. Guzzetti et al., 2024
Touch raises value. Even a watched hand does.
Touching a product raises what people will pay, and watching a hand do it on screen can too. Your own hand, in the air? Untested.โจPeck & Shu, 2009; Luangrath et al., 2022
High control needs hardware. Easy access means a mouse.
Webcams can now track bare hands, yet I found no consumer study of them.โจChang et al., 2023
Formative Research
Formative Research
Stores let you explore. Screens let you scroll.
Stores let you explore. Screens let you scroll.
I audited six accessible-luxury brands (ยฃ200โ600) and interviewed five London shoppers aged 25โ35 who regularly research luxury leather goods online. Four of five wanted to look for themselves. Online, the six brands mostly show photos and preset rotations, and none lets you explore the inside of a bag interactively. That leaves room.
I audited six accessible-luxury brands (ยฃ200โ600) and interviewed five London shoppers aged 25โ35 who regularly research luxury leather goods online. Four of five wanted to look for themselves. Online, the six brands mostly show photos and preset rotations, and none lets you explore the inside of a bag interactively. That leaves room.
Interview Findings
Interview Findings
Five interviews, coded with thematic analysis
Five interviews, coded with thematic analysis
Material and Scale Uncertainty
Online, shoppers canโt judge material, size or proportion. Confidence in buying high-value items online averaged 2.9 out of 5.
The Demand for Active Exploration and Control
In store, people turn the bag, open it and look closer. Four of five wanted to explore for themselves.
Visual Minimalism as a Luxury Heuristic
Clean, restrained design reads as premium. A poorly presented product seems to lose value.
Autonomous, Pressure-free Exploration
Staff attention in store feels intrusive. Browsing online lets people look and decide silently.
Material and Scale Uncertainty
Online, shoppers canโt judge material, size or proportion. Confidence in buying high-value items online averaged 2.9 out of 5.
The Demand for Active Exploration and Control
In store, people turn the bag, open it and look closer. Four of five wanted to explore for themselves.
Visual Minimalism as a Luxury Heuristic
Clean, restrained design reads as premium. A poorly presented product seems to lose value.
Autonomous, Pressure-free Exploration
Staff attention in store feels intrusive. Browsing online lets people look and decide silently.
SYNTHESIS
SYNTHESIS
The gap is real
The gap is real
in the market, and in what shoppers told me.
in the market, and in what shoppers told me.
Experimental Design
Experimental Design
One variable changes. Everything else stays still.
One variable changes. Everything else stays still.
Every participant experienced both conditions, pointer and gesture, in counterbalanced order, so each person acts as their own control.
Every participant experienced both conditions, pointer and gesture, in counterbalanced order, so each person acts as their own control.
Why webcam gesture
No extra hardware.Most shoppers already have a webcam, so nothing stands between them and the product.
What got built
11 features, ranked by the measurement path first. One was cut: it would have added a second stimulus.
One page. One switch.
Same brand, same page, same path.A fictional label, Thรฉa, removed brand bias, so the only difference is how you look.
Why webcam gesture
No extra hardware.Most shoppers already have a webcam, so nothing stands between them and the product.
What got built
11 features, ranked by the measurement path first. One was cut: it would have added a second stimulus.
One page. One switch.
Same brand, same page, same path.A fictional label, Thรฉa, removed brand bias, so the only difference is how you look.
Experimental Conditions
Experimental Conditions
Test the experiment before the experiment.
Test the experiment before the experiment.
Two rounds of testing, so the ten who count arenโt spent on bugs.
Two rounds of testing, so the ten who count arenโt spent on bugs.
LOFI
MID-FI
HI-FI
Fix the site before the gesture. Three people tested a grey wireframe of the whole site, so navigation problems couldnโt be mistaken for judgements about gesture.
LOFI
MID-FI
HI-FI
Three people tested a grey wireframe of the whole site.
Results
Results
Feels more enjoyable
8 of 10 scored higher under gesture
M = 6.28 vs 4.80 ยท
p = .004 ยท W = 0.00 ยท
8 of 10 higher, 0 lower
Harder to
use
7 of 10 scored lower under gesture
AttrakDiff Pragmatic Quality (1โ7) ยท 5.37 vs 6.43 ยท p = .012
Stayed 3.5x
longer
9 of 10 explore longer
155s vs 45s ยท
p = .010
Intent
held still
Emotional value and purchase intention:
no reliable change
PERVAL Emotional Value p = .344 ยท Purchase Intention p = .500
The trade-off: richer to look at, harder to control.
The trade-off: richer to look at, harder to control.
Enjoyment rose. Ease of use fell. Intent held still.
Enjoyment rose. Ease of use fell. Intent held still.
More enjoyable
8 of 10 scored higher under gesture
AttrakDiff Hedonic Quality (1โ7) ยท 6.28 vs 4.80 ยท p = .004
Stayed 3.5ร longer
9 of 10
explored longer
Exploration time ยท
155 s vs 45 s ยท p = .010
Harder
to use
7 of 10 scored lower under gesture
AttrakDiff Pragmatic Quality (1โ7) ยท 5.37 vs 6.43 ยท p = .012
Intent held still
Emotional value and purchase intention:
no reliable change
PERVAL Emotional Value p = .344 ยท Purchase Intention p = .500
Discussion
Discussion
Gesture slows people down. Thatโs its value, and its cost.
Gesture slows people down. Thatโs its value, and its cost.
It kept people looking longer and felt richer, but not everywhere, and not for free.
It kept people looking longer and felt richer, but not everywhere, and not for free.
Where to use it
Not on every page. Gesture invites slow, deliberate looking, so it suits a hero product or a moment worth lingering on, not a quick checkout.
What makes it work
Easy to learn. If people are busy learning the gesture, they canโt look at the product. Keep a familiar pointer option as a way out.
Why luxury is different
The interface is part of the product. Friction may not just annoy; it may make the bag feel less well made.
Where to use it
Not on every page. Gesture invites slow, deliberate looking, so it suits a hero product or a moment worth lingering on, not a quick checkout.
What makes it work
Easy to learn. If people are busy learning the gesture, they canโt look at the product. Keep a familiar pointer option as a way out.
Why luxury is different
The interface is part of the product. Friction may not just annoy; it may make the bag feel less well made.
Interactive Prototype
Interactive Prototype
Try both
Try both
Open the pointer version, then the gesture one. Gesture needs a webcam and a desktop browser.
Open the pointer version, then the gesture one. Gesture needs a webcam and a desktop browser.
What I bring to the team?
What I bring to the team?
Research, code and craft in one designer.
Research, code and craft in one designer.
For product teams that need to test fast and still look premium.
For product teams that need to test fast and still look premium.
Decisions backed by evidence. I test before I build big, and I report what didnโt work. Two of my four hypotheses failed, and I showed all four.
Decisions backed by evidence. I test before I build big, and I report what didnโt work. Two of my four hypotheses failed, and I showed all four.
Ideas you can click, not just see. When design tools canโt show an idea, I build it, so people react to the real thing.
Ideas you can click, not just see. When design tools canโt show an idea, I build it, so people react to the real thing.
Brand craft that carries into product. Three years in brand and advertising means the interface feels like the brand it serves, not a template.
Brand craft that carries into product. Three years in brand and advertising means the interface feels like the brand it serves, not a template.
AI use. Claude (Anthropic) assisted with translating my drafts from Chinese into English, language refinement, and organising the literature. Cursor, an AI-assisted coding environment, turned my design requirements and low-fidelity concepts into the working prototype code. The research and experimental design, interaction design, data collection and interpretation of findings are my own, and I reviewed and edited all AI-assisted output. Atmosphere images on this page are AI-generated illustrations. Figures and screenshots are from the study.
AI use. Claude (Anthropic) assisted with translating my drafts from Chinese into English, language refinement, and organising the literature. Cursor, an AI-assisted coding environment, turned my design requirements and low-fidelity concepts into the working prototype code. The research and experimental design, interaction design, data collection and interpretation of findings are my own, and I reviewed and edited all AI-assisted output. Atmosphere images on this page are AI-generated illustrations. Figures and screenshots are from the study.
