Understanding consumers' purchase intention in virtual reality commerce environment

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) has developed rapidly and drawn the attention of businesses. E‐commerce practitioners have used VR to improve business performance and satisfy consumers' needs by enhancing the shopping experience and increasing purchase intention. To explore the effects of VR shopping platforms on purchase intention, this study developed a theoretical framework on the basis of task–technology fit. The framework comprises technological characteristics and user needs (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) and can be used to investigate perceived needs–technology fit and identify factors affecting intention to purchase on VR platforms. This study distributed an online questionnaire and received 336 responses. Analysis was performed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results suggested that purchase intention is stronger when perceived needs–technology fit is closer. Hedonic needs play a vital role in perceived needs–technology fit. In terms of technological characteristics, relative advantage, and service compatibility strongly affect perceived needs–technology fit. In addition, feelings of spatial presence, a key component of VR, positively affect relative advantage, service compatibility, and trialability and negatively affect complexity. The implications of the findings are also discussed.

Immersive technology and cause‐related marketing: The role of personalization and value co‐creation

“…However, we found no link between commercial personalization and value co-creation, which may be attributed to video content licensed by a non-profit organization in conflict with the profit orientation of commercial personalization. According to Hsiao and Lin (2023), service compatibility, similar to the concept of commercial personalization because it was defined as the extent to which users' service needs are consistent with innovation of technology, benefits VR purchasing experience, but their study was in an online commerce context. This reinforces our finding regarding the insignificance of commercial personalization since our study does not focus on commercial attributes but ethical elements in cause-related product purchase.…”

“…Immersive technology is to create the users' perceived immersion toward the virtual environments close to the physical ones and to increase the reality of virtual experiences (Soliman et al, 2017), such as 360-degree videos or virtual reality (VR), and enhances the perception of ethical values through physical experiences. While previous marketing research has explored the adoption of VR products or services from a self-interest perspective, such as tourism (Skard et al, 2021) and online retailing Hsiao & Lin, 2023), little attention has been given to the impact of immersive technology adoption on ethical products. Taken together, this study aims to explore whether the adoption of immersive technology increases perceived values that lead to consumer sustainable engagement, including purchase of cause-related products.…”