Customers use small sensory cues — weight, texture, sound, presentation — to estimate quality they cannot see directly. Experimental research shows these cues can shift both taste and expected price. For a business, they are some of the cheapest levers available.
Weight reads as value
Studies by Charles Spence and Betina Piqueras-Fiszman at the University of Oxford found that the same food was rated more highly, and expected to cost more, when served in a heavier bowl. In wine, heavier bottles were observed to correlate with higher price. Customers treat weight as a shortcut for quality.
Touch and material
The material of cutlery and serving ware has been shown to change how food is perceived. Plastic, thin metal and heavy metal are read differently by the hand before anything is tasted.
Sound
In a well-known supermarket study, playing French or German music changed which country's wine shoppers bought, without most of them noticing the music. Sound in a business is never neutral; it is either chosen or accidental.
Coherence matters more than any single cue
Research on multisensory marketing in luxury settings consistently points to congruence: cues work when they tell the same story. A heavy card sleeve beside a careless greeting does not lift perception; it exposes the gap.
What this means in practice
- Audit what customers touch: menus, cards, bags, invoices, door handles.
- Choose the sound deliberately, including silence.
- Make sure every cue points at the same class.
- Start with the cheapest changes; many of the strongest cues cost very little.
Questions
Does the weight of packaging or tableware affect perceived quality?
Yes. Experimental studies have found that heavier dishes lead people to rate the same food more highly, and heavier wine bottles correlate with higher prices. Weight is widely read as a cue for quality.
Does background music affect what customers buy?
Research has shown that in-store music can influence choices, for example the country of wine shoppers selected, often without them noticing the music.
Sources
- Piqueras-Fiszman, B., & Spence, C. (2012). The weight of the bottle as a possible extrinsic cue with which to estimate the price (and quality) of the wine? Observed correlations. Food Quality and Preference, 25(1).
- Piqueras-Fiszman, B., Harrar, V., Alcaide, J., & Spence, C. (2011). Does the weight of the dish influence our perception of food? Food Quality and Preference, 22(8).
- North, A. C., Hargreaves, D. J., & McKendrick, J. (1999). The influence of in-store music on wine selections. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(2).
- Wiedmann, K.-P., Haase, J., Labenz, F., & Hennigs, N. (2021). Multisensory marketing in the luxury hotel industry: effects on brand experience and customer perceived value. Luxury Research Journal, 2(1/2).
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