Acting on impulse: the role of emotion, gender identity and immersion in driving impulse behavior

Virtual reality (VR), and the profound immersive experiences it generates, has the potential to revolutionize the digital retail landscape, providing numerous advantages for both consumers and retailers. While VR environments can provide consumers with an immersive environment, there is a scarcity of research that considers how certain consumer behaviors, in particular impulse buying behavior, will be impacted in a VR grocery retail environment. This research explored how the VR grocery retail environment impacts the impulse buying behavior of consumers through an experimental design. The research design allowed for an examination of the interaction between the level of immersion, gender identity, and emotional state. The findings suggest that a consumer’s emotional state and gender identity impact the drivers of impulse buying behavior in a high immersion setting (VR environment) but not in a low immersion setting (2D environment). The unique context provides theoretical implications by extending existing VR knowledge by offering insights into the mechanisms through which consumer behavior can be impacted in a high immersion environment. The findings provide valuable insights for marketing professionals looking to incorporate VR technology into their marketing strategies. In particular, the research provides insight into how emotional appeals could impact consumer behavior in a high immersion environment, highlighting safeguards to protect consumer well-being.