IntroductionVR (abbreviated from virtual reality) has been considered as the "next big computing platform, " (Goldman Sachs 2016) as well as one of the "emerging technologies for business" (Gartner 2017). It has gained rapid popularity in various fields, including the retail industry. With developments in technology, the price of computer-based immersive VR systems, such as Oculus and HTC Vive, has fallen, while affordable mobile-based devices such as Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard are available in the market. As consumer accessibility of VR technology has improved, marketers now face the new challenge of developing innovative ways to reach consumers by using VR (Van Kerrebroeck et al. 2017).The retail industry expects to achieve a quantum leap through the use of VR.

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of a fashion store's visual complexity on consumers' behaviour. Considering environmental order and individuals' sensation-seeking tendencies, the authors examine the effect of visually complex fashion stores on consumers in a more conclusive way to address the inconsistent effect found in the previous literature. Design/methodology/approach-This study features a 3 (visual complexity level: low, medium, high) × 2 (environmental order condition: low, high) between subjects design, with individual sensation-seeking tendency included as a moderator. Using this design, an online survey was administered to 188 participants in South Korea. Findings-The results indicate that there is a three-way interaction, where the interaction effect of visual complexity and environmental order is moderated by individuals' sensation-seeking tendency. The effect of visual complexity on approach behaviours had an inverted U-shape in the low-order condition, while had a positive linear shape in the high-order condition, and the interaction effect was significant only for high-sensation seekers. Practical implications-The findings assist practitioners in establishing strategies for visual merchandising and store design within fashion stores. It is suggested that retailers consider environmental order when organising a large amount of varied merchandise in a complex environment. Store managers must adjust the complexity and environmental order to meet the optimal stimulation level of their target consumers. Originality/value-This study strengthens the literature on visual complexity by applying the concept to the retail environment. The results provide a significant contribution to the literature because they show how individual-level and store-level variables interact to influence consumer behaviour.

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