Purpose

In recent years, there has been significant interest in adopting XR (extended reality) technologies such as VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality), particularly in retail. However, extending activities through reality-mediation is still mostly believed to offer an inferior experience due to their shortcomings in usability, wearability, graphical fidelity, etc. This study aims to address the research gap by experimentally examining the acceptance of metaverse shopping.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducts a 2 (VR: with vs. without) × 2 (AR: with vs. without) between-subjects laboratory experiment involving 157 participants in simulated daily shopping environments. This study builds a physical brick-and-mortar store at the campus and stocked it with approximately 600 products with accompanying product information and pricing. The XR devices and a 3D laser scanner were used in constructing the three XR shopping conditions.

Findings

Results indicate that XR can offer an experience comparable to, or even surpassing, traditional shopping in terms of its instrumental and hedonic aspects, regardless of a slightly reduced perception of usability. AR negatively affected perceived ease of use, while VR significantly increased perceived enjoyment. It is surprising that the lower perceived ease of use appeared to be disconnected from the attitude toward metaverse shopping.

Originality/value

This study provides important experimental evidence on the acceptance of XR shopping, and the finding that low perceived ease of use may not always be detrimental adds to the theory of technology adoption as a whole. Additionally, it provides an important reference point for future randomized controlled studies exploring the effects of technology on adoption.

中文翻译：

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对虚拟世界的接受：增强现实和虚拟现实购物的实验室实验

目的

近年来，人们对采用 VR（虚拟现实）和 AR（增强现实）等 XR（扩展现实）技术产生了浓厚的兴趣，特别是在零售业。然而，由于可用性、可穿戴性、图形保真度等方面的缺陷，通过现实中介扩展活动仍然被大多数人认为提供了较差的体验。本研究旨在通过实验检验元宇宙购物的接受程度来弥补研究空白​​。

设计/方法论/途径

本研究进行了 2（VR：有与无）× 2（AR：有与无）受试者间实验室实验，涉及 157 名参与者，在模拟日常购物环境中。本研究在校园内建立了一家实体实体店，并库存了大约 600 种产品，并附有产品信息和定价。XR 设备和 3D 激光扫描仪用于构建三个 XR 购物条件。

发现

结果表明，XR 在工具性和享乐性方面可以提供与传统购物相当甚至超越的体验，尽管可用性感知略有下降。AR 会对感知的易用性产生负面影响，而 VR 则显着增加感知的乐趣。令人惊讶的是，较低的易用性感知似乎与虚拟世界购物的态度无关。

原创性/价值

这项研究为 XR 购物的接受度提供了重要的实验证据，并且发现较低的易用性可能并不总是有害，这一发现补充了整个技术采用的理论。此外，它为未来探索技术对采用的影响的随机对照研究提供了重要的参考点。