Abstract
As immersive media grows, brands increasingly adopt multisensory design, with ASMR emerging as a key auditory tool. How ASMR interacts with visual content to influence consumer product evaluation remains underexplored. Grounded in multisensory integration and processing fluency theory, this study employed three experiments (N=630) to examine their joint effects on immersive experience and purchase intention. Results indicate that ASMR generally enhances consumer evaluation, but its effect depends on visual richness. With low visual richness (color), ASMR adds sensory cues and enhances immersive experience. With moderate visual richness (3D), ASMR’s effect diminished. With high visual richness (close-up), ASMR may induce overload and reduce effectiveness. Overall, ASMR and visual richness exhibit an inverted U-shaped effect. These findings deepen understanding of multisensory integration and provide guidance for achieving sensory balance and designing human-centred, responsible brand experiences.
Keywords
ASMR; multisensory integration; visual richness; inverted U-shaped effect
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1390
Citation
Chen, H., and Cheng, P. (2026) When can ASMR sound improve consumer product evaluation? Exploring the joint influences of ASMR sound and visual richness, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1390
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
When can ASMR sound improve consumer product evaluation? Exploring the joint influences of ASMR sound and visual richness
As immersive media grows, brands increasingly adopt multisensory design, with ASMR emerging as a key auditory tool. How ASMR interacts with visual content to influence consumer product evaluation remains underexplored. Grounded in multisensory integration and processing fluency theory, this study employed three experiments (N=630) to examine their joint effects on immersive experience and purchase intention. Results indicate that ASMR generally enhances consumer evaluation, but its effect depends on visual richness. With low visual richness (color), ASMR adds sensory cues and enhances immersive experience. With moderate visual richness (3D), ASMR’s effect diminished. With high visual richness (close-up), ASMR may induce overload and reduce effectiveness. Overall, ASMR and visual richness exhibit an inverted U-shaped effect. These findings deepen understanding of multisensory integration and provide guidance for achieving sensory balance and designing human-centred, responsible brand experiences.