Examining the moderating effects of shopping orientation, product knowledge and involvement on the effectiveness of Virtual Reality (VR) retail environment

The increasing affordability of Virtual Reality (VR) presents opportunities for retail innovation. While previous research highlighted the superiority of VR over traditional media in retailing application, this research shows that the advantage of VR retailing is contingent on consumer product knowledge, shopping orientation, and product involvement. Adopting an experimental between-subjects design across three studies, this research showed that VR does not necessarily outperform static pictures in facilitating mental imagery when consumers have high (vs. low) product knowledge. However, the negative impact of product knowledge is reduced when consumers engage in shopping for experiential rather than task-focused orientations. Moreover, high (vs. low) -involvement products also play a role in reducing the negative effect of product knowledge on VR effectiveness. This research address the gaps in the literature by demonstrating the efficacy of VR retailing in the context of product knowledge, shopping orientation, and product involvement. For marketers, this research shows that VR should be used with discretion, considering the product types, consumer shopping orientations, and product involvement.