Metaverse Servicescape: Emotional Response to Virtual Retail Design

Abstract

The highly anticipated global Metaverse market presents a burgeoning arena, particularly in shopping and retail. While physical retail environments have long emphasized the details of exterior and interior servicescape design, the shift to online shopping raises questions about applying these traditional retail principles to the Metaverse setting. This research adopts conjoint analysis to delve into the potential of localized Metaverse retail design by merging consumer emotions, market segmentation, and innovative retail technologies. Using the Pleasure, Arousal, Dominance (PAD) model, we examine Metaverse servicescape attributes, based on real-world counterparts, application in segmenting store design based on consumer preferences. Like in physical retailing cases, music, crowding, and noise are the most influential Metaverse attributes affecting consumer emotion. However, three different clusters emerged according to their emotional responses. Our experiment reveals that Metaverse servicescape attributes may evoke emotional responses akin to their physical counterparts while offering a valuable opportunity for customization that better satisfies market segments. Insights are offered for retailers navigating the dynamic Metaverse landscape, where personalization and localization are now more affordable and where multiple store designs can coexist in digital form—reaching larger markets.

Keywords:

• Metaverse
• servicescape
• PAD
• SOR
• conjoint
• virtual reality
• online retail

Acknowledgments

We would like to than the editor and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and Li Yun Lee for data collection assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Clyde A. Warden

Clyde A. Warden is Professor of Marketing at National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan. His research focuses on Chinese cultural influence on consumer behavior, linguistics, and educational technologies.

Judy F. Chen

Judy F. Chen is Professor of General Education Center at the Overseas Chinese University, Taiwan, where she has explored the key roles of language and culture in business. Her research has appeared in TESOL Quarterly, Journal of Business Ethics, and Computers & Education.

Wan-Hsuan Yen

Wan-Hsuan Yen is Assistant Professor of Department of Business Administration at National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. His primary research interest are religion’s influence on wellbeing, human resource development for NPO, and new technologies in learning and development.