Consumer behavior with augmented reality in retail: a review and research agenda

ABSTRACT

Driven by the rapid technological development and adoption of augmented reality (AR) in retail, academic research has grown rapidly. Our purpose is to understand the reasons why consumers use augmented reality in retail and what outcomes retailers can expect. This study presents a systematic literature review and summarizes the current empirical knowledge on consumer behavior with AR in retail. This topic remains scattered between various literature streams showing that the potential of AR to create value for consumers lays in its ability to generate utilitarian and hedonic value, to improve decision-making, and to enhance personalization of the virtual self. Then, this study warns about negative effects of AR usage. The contribution is a systematic literature review and a conceptual framework covering the most important consumer behaviors with AR and their brand-related, transactional, and technology-related outcomes. In addition, this paper adopts a holistic view to propose future research directions and emphasize the need for more research on social augmented reality.

KEYWORDS:

• Augmented reality
• retail
• experience
• self
• decision-making

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The media characteristics in Javornik’s (2016a) study are interactivity, hypertextuality, modality, connectivity, location-specificity, mobility, and virtuality.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Virginie Lavoye

Virginie Lavoye (Master's degree) is a junior researcher and a PhD candidate at LUT University, School of Business and Management. Her research focuses on digital marketing and consumer behavior and specializes in interactions between augmented reality and consumers.

Joel Mero

Joel Mero is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at University of Jyväskylä (School of Business and Economics). His research interests focus on the use of data and new technologies in marketing management. His previous research has been published in Industrial Marketing Management, Electronic Markets, and Marketing Mangement Journal, among others. His teaching focuses on digital marketing strategies and tactics.

Anssi Tarkiainen

Anssi Tarkiainen is an Associate Professor (tenure track) in Digital Marketing in LUT School of Business and Management. Overarching theme in his research is human behavior and decision-making of individuals and groups, which he has studied in the contexts of consumer behavior, sales & marketing management, and strategy. He teaches marketing analytics and digital marketing.