Mobile advertising: the effect of tablet tilt angle on user’s purchase intentions

Overview & Synopsis

With the advent of mobile screens, online advertisements are viewed on screens held in various positions, from horizontal (such as when the tablet is rested on a table or on the knees) to vertical (when placed on an easel, for example), allowing the viewer to see the advertisement in different body postures. Based on the theory of embodied cognition (Barsalou, 2008), we present two experimental studies in which we show that mobile device tilt angle impacts purchase intention of advertised products, that purchase intention is increased when device tilt angle allows viewers to stand in a body posture that is consistent with the image perspective, and that mental simulation process mediates this effect. The results contribute to a better understanding of the conditions of advertising effectiveness on mobile devices.