Virtually mine: Understanding consumer responses to virtual reality product presentations
Ertuğrul Uysal, David Finken, M. A. Kramer, Sascha Alavi, Youjung Jun, Dennis Schendzielarz
Abstract
Virtual reality (VR) offers retailers a promising tool to enhance consumer experiences and product presentations. However, existing research provides limited guidance on how to effectively implement VR in retail settings. To explore actionable VR strategies for retailers and advance understanding of VR-based product presentations, the authors conducted a field experiment, three controlled laboratory experiments, and a series of qualitative interviews ( N = 482). The results show VR product presentations do not inherently improve consumer outcomes; rather, retailers need to carefully design them to realize their benefits. VR product presentations can improve outcomes for retailers when used to (a) showcase hedonic products, (b) employ interactive and realistic virtual environments that stimulate consumers’ product imagination, (c) present the product in a congruent usage context, and (d) enable product assembly in VR (revealing a virtual “IKEA effect). We uncover psychological ownership as a key mechanism explaining these effects. The paper offers clear guidance for retailers and contributes to the literature by demonstrating how VR product presentations impact consumer outcomes.