Yes.
Skin constantly experiences physical forces from movement, touch, stretching, pressure and its surrounding environment.
Cells have mechanisms that allow them to sense aspects of those forces.
The biological process through which cells convert mechanical stimuli into biochemical signals is broadly called mechanotransduction.
Mechanotransduction isn't unique to skincare or beauty. It is fundamental biology and is studied across tissues throughout the body.
In skin, researchers have investigated how mechanical forces interact with keratinocytes, fibroblasts, extracellular matrix components, cell junctions, the cytoskeleton and mechanosensitive ion channels.
That does not mean rubbing your moisturizer into your face automatically creates a clinically meaningful cellular response.
It does tell us something more fundamental:
Physical force is biologically relevant to skin.
And that makes the mechanics of application worth investigating.