WOW, the make-up AR app is impressive: a comparative study between China and South Korea

Abstract

Purpose Consumers today actively participate in online purchasing experiences. As a result, it is critical to comprehend the behavioral aspects of novel technology usage, such as augmented reality (AR). AR apps enable beauty companies to create and design more immersive experience services. This study aims to highlight consumers’ perspectives on their continued desire to use AR app services. Design/methodology/approach A comparative study between China and South Korea was conducted with sample sizes of 458 and 315, respectively. Smart PLS was used for analysis. Findings The findings suggest that AR apps influence innovative consumers in China and South Korea to be satisfied with and continue to use such services. Previous research on technology acceptance model, information system success, AR and artificial intelligence (AI)-context-specific variables supported the findings. Practical implications This study contributes to the development of AR apps for beauty brands, as such technology revolutionizes how beauty brands work and grow. As a result, AR apps can pave the way for brands to provide an immersive experience to their customers. Originality/value The current study contributes to AR and AI drivers in the context of beauty brands by using novel technologies such as AR. AR integration with AI-context-specific variables indicates that consumers in China and South Korea are innovative and accept such technologies when purchasing beauty products online.

How the COVID-19 pandemic may accelerate millennials’ adoption of augmented reality

“…Other features of YouCam Makeup allow people to enhance their AR beauty experience (Butt et al. , 2021) by testing several hair colours without visiting a salon and adding accessories to complete their look.…”

“…AR technology changes how consumers engage in the shopping process (Chen et al, 2021;Caboni and Hagberg, 2019;Yadav and Pavlou, 2014) within both online and offline environments (Heller et al, 2019;Kumar, 2021). As an interactive technology, AR (Siregar and Kent, 2019;Pantano, 2016; COVID-19 accelerates millennials AR adoption Pantano and Gandini, 2017) is able to engage customers during their shopping journeys (Butt et al, 2021), to attract new customers (Heller et al, 2021), to influence customer satisfaction by making shopping easier and, consequently, to boost sales and revenues (Butt et al, 2021). Using AR, people can interact with and visualize a product virtually using a smartphone, a tablet, or another smart device without the physical presence of the item (Serravalle et al, 2020).…”

“…AR thus seems valuable for and suitable to these contexts (Azuma, 1997;Azuma et al, 2001;Caboni and Hagberg, 2019), allowing retailers and consumers to experience shopping in an interesting and amazing manner. Accordingly, AR could be considered a technology that could be used to facilitate shopping (Butt et al, 2021) during particularly difficult periods, such as a pandemic when people must respect social distancing rules (Wilder-Smith and Freedman, 2020) or lockdown situations that restrict movement and require isolation (Laato et al, 2020). AR, due to its three main characteristics -(1) the three-dimensional reproduction of (2) virtual objects in a (3) real environment (Azuma, 1997;Azuma et al, 2001) permits people to experience shopping by using only technological devices, such as computers or smartphones.…”

“…YouCam Makeup is an AR beauty app that offers the opportunity to try several cosmetic products and filters that are useful for modifying pictures on a smartphone and Instagram. The potential of AR for virtually testing products in real environments (Azuma, 1997;Azuma et al, 2001;Butt et al, 2021) is fully expressed in this app, which exploits the webcams of peopl''s smart devices (computers, tablets and smartphones). This application increased in popularity during the worldwide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic because it addressed several problems related to quarantines, people's inability to move and community containment (Wilder-Smith and Freedman, 2020).…”

“…, 2021), to attract new customers (Heller et al. , 2021), to influence customer satisfaction by making shopping easier and, consequently, to boost sales and revenues (Butt et al. , 2021).…”