Testing the effects of augmented and virtual reality attributes on the customer journey in online retailing: A meta-analysis

Despite substantial investment in augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) for online retailing, evidence remains fragmented on how AR/VR creates value across the online customer journey. This study develops a journey-based framework for AR/VR value creation by examining how four core AR/VR attributes (presence, immersion, vividness, and interactivity) relate to prepurchase, purchase, and post-purchase outcomes. Using meta-analytic structural equation modeling and hierarchical linear modeling with data from 126 independent samples (N = 36,386), we show that AR/VR effects vary across attributes and customer journey outcomes. Immersion is most strongly associated with prepurchase outcomes, vividness with purchase outcomes, and presence and interactivity with post-purchase outcomes. Hedonic and utilitarian gratifications help explain how AR/VR attributes are linked to customer journey outcomes. Moderation analyses further identify the customer-, product-, retailer-, interface-, and time-related conditions under which AR/VR value is shaped by amplification, resource complementarity, functional substitutability, and attenuation. Three experiments provide causal evidence for focal effects across the three customer journey outcomes. The study clarifies how, when, and under which retailing conditions AR/VR creates customer value in online retailing.