Immersive interactive technologies and virtual shopping experiences: Differences in consumer perceptions between augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)
Introduction
Online shopping is evolving. With the fast-paced advancements in interactive technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), a growing number of retailers are turning to these emerging technologies to provide a fun, effective, and enjoyable virtual shopping experience (Grewal et al., 2017, Wedel et al., 2020). Large brands such as Macy’s, Volvo, and IKEA have adopted VR to improve consumer virtual shopping (Meiβner et al., 2020). Other brands such as Timberland, Sephora, and Topshop have utilized AR in their mobile apps (Watson et al., 2020) to help consumers virtually try on products. According to a recent report (Allied Market Research, 2021), the global AR and VR market valued at $14.84 billion in 2020 is expected to reach $454.73 billion by 2030. Metaverse leveraging AR and VR is looming as the new virtual mall, especially among digital-first young generations (Obsessar.com, n.d.).
The COVID-19 pandemic greatly propelled the shift in consumers’ shopping behaviors (Kannan and Kulkarni, 2021). With the pandemic regulations, an unprecedented number of consumers switched to online shopping (McKinsey & Company, 2021). These shifts in consumer habits demanded retailers to quickly figure out how to provide effective and efficient shopping experiences in their virtual environments. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the urgency of implementing advanced interactive technologies that enhance virtual shopping experiences (Cohen, 2020, Luna-Nevarez and McGovern, 2021). Many retailers now prioritize the implementation of advanced interactive technologies including AR and VR as one of the key post-pandemic business strategies to stay competitive. Nearly two out of three marketers and executives worldwide consider the adoption of AR and VR to be quite or very important (Williamson, 2020). Nonetheless, the actual implementation rates for AR and VR remain low (e.g., Ball et al., 2021). It is often challenging for brands to adopt advanced technologies without knowing the efficacy of emerging interactive technologies.
Despite much hype in news media, empirical research comparing various interactive technologies is largely lacking. In particular, the functional mechanisms of AR and VR remain underexplored, and AR and VR technologies are often mistakenly used interchangeably in the sense that both AR and VR provide enriched or enhanced shopping experiences by processing 3D images (William, 2022). Also, when people wear a VR goggle, they generally understand they are interacting with VR. When people use their mobile phone or tablet to overlay the digital world to their reality, they generally know that they are not in VR but in AR. However, when wearable devices such as Google Glass or other smart AR glasses are involved, the distinction between AR and VR becomes less clear to the general public, resulting in common mixed uses of terms.
Both AR and VR are expected to improve visualization of products and shopping scenery and make the shopping process more interactive (Hilken et al., 2021). However, considering that the two technologies have different interfaces and functionalities, little is known about how AR and VR may be similar/different in how they influence user experiences. Hilken et al. (2021) pointed out that none of the extant research examined both AR and VR in their individual or combined effects on consumer attitudes and intentions. To address this gap, the current study aims to investigate and compare the functional mechanisms of AR and VR in impacting user perceptions and behaviors. A better understanding of consumer behavior with AR vs VR will offer practical insights for brands to make strategic technology implementations.
Milgram et al. (1994)’s Reality-Virtuality (RV) continuum offers a way to conceptualize the relative relationship of AR and VR. It describes the distinct span between AR and VR in connection with consumer experiences in the real and virtual worlds. From a technical perspective, AR and VR differ in their systems. AR overlays digital world elements onto the physical real world, whereas VR provides completely immersive virtual experiences. With AR, consumers experience virtual products in the actual physical world (Tan et al., 2021). On the other hand, with VR, consumers experience virtual products in a simulated virtual environment (Watson et al., 2020). Both AR and VR have been implemented to enhance consumers’ sensory experiences in a virtual setting (Hilken et al., 2021). The technical differences between AR and VR may contribute to sensory experiences differently, and the present study aims to explore similarities/differences in user experiences with AR and VR.
To understand users’ internal processes resulting from AR and VR experiences, respectively, the present study draws on the concepts of presence and telepresence in a virtual world (Steuer, 1992) and the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) framework (Eroglu et al., 2003, Mehrabian and Russell, 1974). Research on interactive technologies emphasizes the importance of a sense of presence in affecting consumer adoption intention (Meißner et al., 2020, Wedel et al., 2020). According to Steuer (1992), vividness and interactivity of experiences evoke a sense of presence. Building on the literature on a sense of presence, the present study examines the functional mechanisms of how user perceptions of vividness and interactivity of AR and VR contribute to a sense of presence and further examines how a sense of presence influences consumer responses including sensory brand app experience, attitude, and behavioral intentions. The empirical findings of the study will not only bring new theoretical insights that enhance the knowledge of the mechanisms of AR and VR, but also practical insights that help retail businesses to make an informed strategic decision regarding technology adoption.
The outline of this paper is as follows. First, a conceptual framework and background knowledge of the current literature in relation to the topics covered are provided. Then, two experimental studies to test proposed hypotheses are described. Next, results and a discussion of the theoretical and managerial implications for future research are presented.
Section snippets
Conceptual framework
The current study proposes an integrative model to understand the functional mechanism by which AR and VR influence consumer behavior and similarities/differences between AR and VR.
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)
Augmented reality (AR) is defined as “a technology that superimposes virtual objects onto a live view of physical environments, helping users visualize how these objects would fit into their physical world” (Tan et al., 2021, p. 1). The real-time interaction between virtual objects and real environment with 3D images is a unique feature of AR (Kumar, 2022). By integrating real world and virtual information (Poushneh and Vasquez-Parraga, 2017), AR is widely applied across online websites,
Method
This study was conducted in actual AR and VR commercial shopping environments. IKEA launched both AR and VR shopping applications to enrich consumer shopping experiences. The IKEA mobile applications were utilized for both AR and VR experiments. IKEA’s AR app (i.e., IKEA Place) allows consumers to overlay its products onto a real-world environment to help consumers more accurately estimate the product fit in the physical environment. The IKEA VR app (i.e., Matterport IKEA VR store) shows a
Respondents
For the AR experiment, a total of 153 respondents participated in the study. Before taking the survey participants were asked to submit a screenshot that showed their interaction and uses of the AR tools on the IKEA AR app. Submissions that did not include acceptable screenshots showing adequate participation and interaction with the AR app or had incomplete survey questionnaires were deleted. Thus, the total number of usable respondents was 116 (54.3 % female, 45.7 % male). Approximately 60 %
Conclusions and implications
Building on the integrative framework of Milgram et al. (1994)’s Reality-Virtuality (RV) continuum, the concept of a sense of presence (Steuer, 1992), and the SOR framework (Eroglu et al., 2003, Mehrabian and Russell, 1974), the current research examined the functional mechanisms of AR and VR in influencing user perceptions and responses in virtual shopping environments. In particular, the effects of AR/VR application features (i.e., vividness and interactivity) on a sense of presence and other
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgement
This research was funded by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (Project No. NRF-2016S1A5A2A03927809).
References (108)
- et al.
Virtual products as an extension of my body; Exploring hedonic and utilitarian shopping value in a virtual reality retail environment
J. Bus. Res.
(2021) - et al.
Virtual reality adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic: A uses and gratifications perspective
Telematics Inform.
(2021) - et al.
Destination brand experience and visitor behavior: Testing a scale in the tourism context
Annals of Tourism Research
(2014) - et al.
Using augmented reality to experiment with elements in a chemistry course
Comput. Hum. Behav.
(2020) - et al.
A dual model of product involvement for effective virtual reality: The roles of imagination, co-creation, telepresence, and interactivity
J. Bus. Res.
(2019) - et al.
Effects of mobile augmented reality apps on impulse buying behavior: An investigation in the tourism field
Heliyon.
(2020) - et al.
How to Sustain the Customer Experience:: An Overview of Experience Components that Co-create Value With the Customer
Eur. Manag. J.
(2007) - et al.
The development and validation of the ARI questionnaire: An instrument for measuring immersion in location-based augmented reality settings
Int. J. Human-Computer Studies
(2017) - et al.
The future of retailing
J. Retail.
(2017) - et al.
Telepresence, time distortion, and consumer traits of virtual reality shopping
J. Bus. Res.
(2020)
How does sensory brand experience influence brand equity? Considering the roles of customer satisfaction, customer affective commitment, and employee empathy
J. Bus. Res.
An adoption model for virtual reality games: The roles of presence and enjoyment
Telematics Inform.
How 3D virtual reality stores can shape consumer purchase decisions: The roles of informativeness and playfulness
J. Interact. Mark.
Creating virtual product experiences: The role of telepresence
J. Interact. Mark.
Investigating the determinants of telepresence in the e-commerce setting
Comput. Hum. Behav.
Understanding the use of Virtual Reality in Marketing: A text mining-based review
J. Bus. Res.
The influence of virtual reality in e-commerce
J. Bus. Res.
How virtual reality affects consumer choice
J. Bus. Res.
Engagement, telepresence and interactivity in online consumer experience: Reconciling scholastic and managerial perspectives
J. Bus. Res.
Sales impact of servicescape’s rational stimuli: A natural experiment
J. Retail. Consum. Serv.
The fluent online shopping experience
J. Bus. Res.
Enhancing the online decision-making process by using augmented reality: A two country comparison of youth markets
J. Retail. Consum. Serv.
The impact of e-atmospherics on physical stores
J. Retail. Consum. Serv.
Using the technology acceptance model to explain how attitudes determine Internet usage: The role of perceived access barriers and demographics
J. Bus. Res.
Discernible impact of augmented reality on retail customer’s experience, satisfaction and willingness to buy
J. Retail. Consum. Serv.
Shopping in augmented reality: The effects of spatial presence, personalization and intrusiveness on app and brand responses
J. Bus. Res.
Present it like it is here: Creating local presence to improve online product experiences
Comput. Hum. Behav.
Do VR and AR versions of an immersive cultural experience engender different user experiences?
Comput. Hum. Behav.
Virtual and augmented reality: Advancing research in consumer marketing
Int. J. Res. Mark.
Evaluation of learners’ attitude toward learning in ARIES augmented reality environments
Comput. Educ.
Shopping in virtual reality: A literature review and future agenda
J. Bus. Res.
Augmented and virtual reality market statistics: 2030
Customer perceived value through quality augmented reality experiences in retail: The mediating effect of customer attitudes
J. Mark. Commun.
Examining tourism consumers’ attitudes and the role of sensory information in virtual reality experiences of a tourist destination
J. Travel Res.
Virtual reality technology: A tutorial
J. Commun.
Brand Experience: What Is It? How Is It Measured? Does It Affect Loyalty?
J. Mark.
Insights on the virtual reality global market to 2027 - Featuring Intel, Jaunt and Unity Technologies among others
How Virtual Reality enhances customer experience: The role of VR in customer experience
Retrieved from
How augmented reality can-and can’t-help your brand
Harv. Bus. Rev.
Parents’ user experiences of augmented reality book reading: Perceptions, expectations, and intentions
Educ. Technol. Res. Dev.
Consumers response towards mobile commerce applications: S-O-R approach
Int. J. Inf. Manag.
The effects of progressive levels of interactivity and vividness in web marketing sites
J. Advert.
Effect of online 3D advertising on consumer responses: the mediating role of telepresence
J. Mark. Manag.
Empirical testing of a model of online store atmospherics and shopper responses
Psychol. Mark.
Adoption of augmented reality in online retailing and consumers’ product attitude: A cognitive perspective
J. Retail. Consum. Serv.
Cited by (29)
Why do people use Metaverse? A uses and gratification theory perspective
2024, Telematics and InformaticsDeterminants of virtual reality stores influencing purchase intention: An interpretive structural modeling approach
2024, Journal of Retailing and Consumer ServicesThe dark side of the metaverse: The role of gamification in event virtualization
2024, International Journal of Information ManagementAR app-based brand engagement and outcomes: A moderated mediation approach
2024, Journal of Retailing and Consumer ServicesImpact of Coastal Walking Outdoors and Virtual Reality Indoor Walking on Heart Rate, Enjoyment Levels and Mindfulness Experiences in Healthy Adults
2024, Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology