IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v196y2025ics0148296325002267.html

Self-proximity in augmented reality enhances consumer’s responses to green products through anticipated warm glow

Author

Listed:
  • Lavoye, Virginie
  • Petit, Olivia
  • Tarkiainen, Anssi
  • Sipilä, Jenni

Abstract

Encouraging online green purchasing requires overcoming the abstract nature of e-commerce and making the environmental benefits of green products more tangible. Augmented reality (AR) is a promising tool that allows consumers to try on green products virtually, fostering self-proximity—the perception that the augmented self-representation is close to oneself. We explore how and under what conditions AR-enabled self-proximity enhances consumer responses to green products. We find that AR-enabled self-proximity enhances the personal relevance of green products, heightens the anticipated warm glow, and improves consumer responses to green products. AR is particularly effective in promoting green purchasing because it heightens anticipated warm glow, which in turn leads to higher purchase intentions for green products than for generic ones. We highlight the need to carefully design AR experiences that emphasize self-relevance and intrinsic rewards to maximize impact, offer practical recommendations, and suggest avenues for future research in this growing area of study.

Suggested Citation

  • Lavoye, Virginie & Petit, Olivia & Tarkiainen, Anssi & Sipilä, Jenni, 2025. "Self-proximity in augmented reality enhances consumer’s responses to green products through anticipated warm glow," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:196:y:2025:i:c:s0148296325002267
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115403
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296325002267
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115403?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fan, Xiaojun & Chai, Zeli & Deng, Nianqi & Dong, Xuebing, 2020. "Adoption of augmented reality in online retailing and consumers’ product attitude: A cognitive perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    2. Philippe Odou & Marie Schill, 2020. "How anticipated emotions shape behavioral intentions to fight climate change," Post-Print hal-02929920, HAL.
    3. Berman, Barry & Pollack, Debra, 2021. "Strategies for the successful implementation of augmented reality," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 64(5), pages 621-630.
    4. Lavoye, Virginie & Tarkiainen, Anssi & Sipilä, Jenni & Mero, Joel, 2023. "More than skin-deep: The influence of presence dimensions on purchase intentions in augmented reality shopping," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    5. Heller, Jonas & Chylinski, Mathew & de Ruyter, Ko & Mahr, Dominik & Keeling, Debbie I., 2019. "Let Me Imagine That for You: Transforming the Retail Frontline Through Augmenting Customer Mental Imagery Ability," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 94-114.
    6. Nathalie Spielmann, 2021. "Green is the New White: How Virtue Motivates Green Product Purchase," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(4), pages 759-776, November.
    7. Joerß, Tom & Hoffmann, Stefan & Mai, Robert & Akbar, Payam, 2021. "Digitalization as solution to environmental problems? When users rely on augmented reality-recommendation agents," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 510-523.
    8. Lembregts, Christophe & Cadario, Romain, 2024. "Consumer-driven climate mitigation: Exploring barriers and solutions in studying higher mitigation potential behaviors," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 513-528.
    9. Víctor Corral Verdugo, 2012. "The positive psychology of sustainability," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 14(5), pages 651-666, October.
    10. Karen Page Winterich & Rebecca Walker Reczek & Tamar Makov, 2024. "How lack of knowledge on emissions and psychological biases deter consumers from taking effective action to mitigate climate change," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 52(5), pages 1475-1494, October.
    11. Khan, Jashim, 2011. "Validation in marketing experiments revisited," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(7), pages 687-692, July.
    12. Attanasi, Giuseppe & Buljat Raymond, Barbara & Festré, Agnès & Guido, Andrea, 2025. "Raising environmental awareness with augmented reality," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    13. Norah Saud H. AL Hilal, 2023. "The Impact of the Use of Augmented Reality on Online Purchasing Behavior Sustainability: The Saudi Consumer as a Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-19, March.
    14. Poushneh, Atieh, 2021. "How close do we feel to virtual product to make a purchase decision? Impact of perceived proximity to virtual product and temporal purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    15. Brannon Barhorst, Jennifer & McLean, Graeme & Shah, Esta & Mack, Rhonda, 2021. "Blending the real world and the virtual world: Exploring the role of flow in augmented reality experiences," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 423-436.
    16. Stefan Hoffmann & Tom Joerß & Robert Mai & Payam Akbar, 2022. "Augmented reality-delivered product information at the point of sale: when information controllability backfires," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 743-776, July.
    17. Sun, Chunhua & Fang, Yuan & Kong, Meng & Chen, Xiayu & Liu, Yezheng, 2022. "Influence of augmented reality product display on consumers’ product attitudes: A product uncertainty reduction perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    18. Gotlieb, Jerry B. & Sarel, Dan, 1991. "Effects of price advertisements on perceived quality and purchase intentions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 195-210, May.
    19. William Fritz & Rhonda Hadi & Andrew Stephen, 2023. "From tablet to table: How augmented reality influences food desirability," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 503-529, May.
    20. Tim Hilken & Ko de Ruyter & Mathew Chylinski & Dominik Mahr & Debbie I. Keeling, 2017. "Augmenting the eye of the beholder: exploring the strategic potential of augmented reality to enhance online service experiences," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(6), pages 884-905, November.
    21. Louise M. Hassan & Edward Shiu & Deirdre Shaw, 2016. "Who Says There is an Intention–Behaviour Gap? Assessing the Empirical Evidence of an Intention–Behaviour Gap in Ethical Consumption," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 219-236, June.
    22. van Esch, Patrick & Arli, Denni & Gheshlaghi, Mahnaz Haji & Andonopoulos, Vicki & von der Heidt, Tania & Northey, Gavin, 2019. "Anthropomorphism and augmented reality in the retail environment," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 35-42.
    23. Odou, Philippe & Schill, Marie, 2020. "How anticipated emotions shape behavioral intentions to fight climate change," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 243-253.
    24. Lembregts, Christophe & Cadario, Romain, 2024. "Consumer-Driven Climate Mitigation: Exploring Barriers and Solutions in Studying Higher Mitigation Potential Behaviors," OSF Preprints ywus6, Center for Open Science.
    25. Jeganathan, Kishokanth & Szymkowiak, Andrzej, 2025. "Bridging Digital Product Passports and in-store experiences: How augmented reality enhances decision comfort and reuse intentions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    26. Scholz, Joachim & Duffy, Katherine, 2018. "We ARe at home: How augmented reality reshapes mobile marketing and consumer-brand relationships," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 11-23.
    27. repec:osf:osfxxx:ywus6_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. Brand, Benedikt M., 2025. "Bridging the intention-behavior-gap through digitalized information (?) - Two laboratory experiments in the textile industry," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    29. Park, Minjung & Yoo, Jungmin, 2020. "Effects of perceived interactivity of augmented reality on consumer responses: A mental imagery perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    30. Flavián, Carlos & Ibáñez-Sánchez, Sergio & Orús, Carlos, 2019. "The impact of virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies on the customer experience," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 547-560.
    31. Kandaurova, Maria & Lee, Seung Hwan (Mark), 2019. "The effects of Virtual Reality (VR) on charitable giving: The role of empathy, guilt, responsibility, and social exclusion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 571-580.
    32. Yim, Mark Yi-Cheon & Chu, Shu-Chuan & Sauer, Paul L., 2017. "Is Augmented Reality Technology an Effective Tool for E-commerce? An Interactivity and Vividness Perspective," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 89-103.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Arghashi, Vahideh & Yuksel, Cenk Arsun, 2022. "Interactivity, Inspiration, and Perceived Usefulness! How retailers’ AR-apps improve consumer engagement through flow," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    2. Nadeem, Waqar & Ashraf, Abdul R. & Kumar, V., 2025. "Fostering consumer engagement with sustainability marketing using augmented reality (SMART): A climate change response," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    3. Recalde, Daniella & Jai, Tunmin Catherine & Jones, Robert Paul, 2024. "I can find the right product with AR! The mediation effects of shopper engagement on intent to purchase beauty products," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Jayaswal, Pragya & Parida, Biswajita, 2023. "The role of augmented reality in redefining e-tailing: A review and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    5. Maaike Ven & Lieve Doucé & Kim Willems & Felitsa Rademakers & Malaika Brengman & Philippine Loupiac, 2025. "Augmenting the reality of decision-making: Comparing and combining product experiences’ influence on choice difficulty and mental imagery," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 35(1), pages 1-25, December.
    6. Stefan Hoffmann & Tom Joerß & Robert Mai & Payam Akbar, 2022. "Augmented reality-delivered product information at the point of sale: when information controllability backfires," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 743-776, July.
    7. Sun, Chunhua & Fang, Yuan & Kong, Meng & Chen, Xiayu & Liu, Yezheng, 2022. "Influence of augmented reality product display on consumers’ product attitudes: A product uncertainty reduction perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    8. Vieira, Valter Afonso & Rafael, Diego Nogueira & Agnihotri, Raj, 2022. "Augmented reality generalizations: A meta-analytical review on consumer-related outcomes and the mediating role of hedonic and utilitarian values," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 170-184.
    9. Diksha Sharma, 2023. "Unveiling Augmented Reality Trends in the Retail Industry: A Systematic and Bibliometric Review," Paradigm, , vol. 27(2), pages 192-210, December.
    10. Nikhashemi, S.R. & Knight, Helena H. & Nusair, Khaldoon & Liat, Cheng Boon, 2021. "Augmented reality in smart retailing: A (n) (A) Symmetric Approach to continuous intention to use retail brands’ mobile AR apps," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    11. Schultz, Carsten D. & Kumar, Harish, 2024. "ARvolution: Decoding consumer motivation and value dimensions in augmented reality," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    12. Lavoye, Virginie & Kumar, Harish, 2025. "Understanding how augmented reality's immersive experience and privacy concerns impact consumer responses: a cognitive perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    13. Katrin E. Schein & Philipp A. Rauschnabel & Sandra Praxmarer-Carus & Barry J. Babin, 2026. "Unpacking augmentation quality and local presence: Factors that drive effective augmented reality marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 49-69, February.
    14. Poushneh, Atieh, 2021. "How close do we feel to virtual product to make a purchase decision? Impact of perceived proximity to virtual product and temporal purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    15. Gong, Taeshik & Park, JungKun, 2023. "Effects of augmented reality technology characteristics on customer citizenship behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    16. Yang, Shuai & Carlson, Jeffrey R. & Chen, Sixing, 2020. "How augmented reality affects advertising effectiveness: The mediating effects of curiosity and attention toward the ad," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    17. Nannan Xi & Juan Chen & Filipe Gama & Marc Riar & Juho Hamari, 2023. "The challenges of entering the metaverse: An experiment on the effect of extended reality on workload," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 659-680, April.
    18. Wu, Jin-Feng & Zhang, Zhen & Wu, Yinglu & Tang, Xin-Jie, 2025. "The effectiveness of immersive media in promoting consumer Products: Augmented vs. virtual reality," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    19. Pathak, Kanishka & Prakash, Gyan, 2023. "Exploring the role of augmented reality in purchase intention: Through flow and immersive experience," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    20. Jung, Timothy Hyungsoo & Bae, Sujin & Moorhouse, Natasha & Kwon, Ohbyung, 2021. "The impact of user perceptions of AR on purchase intention of location-based AR navigation systems," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:196:y:2025:i:c:s0148296325002267. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.