Creating e-shopping multisensory flow experience through augmented-reality interactive technology
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on virtual liminoid theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine factors that induce a multisensory flow experience in an e-shopping context through the use of augmented-reality interactive technology (ARIT).
Design/methodology/approach
To validate the research framework, a task-based laboratory study was performed. Participants were recruited through a snowball e-mail method and requested to freely and independently use ARIT for clothes fitting in the laboratory, after which they completed a questionnaire; 336 valid responses were received.
Findings
Empirical results revealed that three decorating psychological states (sense of body ownership, sense of ownership control, and self-explorative engagement) directly induced a multisensory flow experience. Furthermore, two multisensory factors (sense of self-location and haptic imagery) mediated the multisensory flow experience through these three decorating psychological states.
Practical implications
Consumers not only rely on generating self-display for optimal fitting in virtual avatar decoration in an e-shopping context but also concentrate more on expression and control of self-body. As consumers’ decorating psychological states require an ideal form of self-expression, a high degree of autonomy in exploring self-decoration options will create more value for consumers. Considering that expressing and controlling the self-body in addition to self-explorative engagement in virtual avatar decoration will trigger the flow experience in an e-shopping context, increasing the use of multisensory ARIT to trigger decorating psychological states in e-shopping contexts is highly recommended.
Originality/value
In this study, a relationship was constructed among virtual liminoid theory, flow theory, and multisensory technology, and an integrated conceptual framework was developed for the relationship between decorating psychological states and multisensory flow experience.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of China, Taiwan, for financially supporting this research under Contract No. MOST 105-2410-H-155-032-, MOST 104-2410-H-155-034- and MOST 103-2410-H-155-022-.
Citation
Huang, T.-L. and Liao, S.-L. (2017), "Creating e-shopping multisensory flow experience through augmented-reality interactive technology", Internet Research, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 449-475. https://doi.org/10.1108/IntR-11-2015-0321
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited