The virtual idealization paradox: how augmented reality previews increase product returns through elevated expectations

Augmented reality (AR) has become a prominent retail technology because it enables consumers to preview products in immersive, interactive ways. Although prior research has emphasized AR's positive effects on consumer responses, less is known about its negative post-purchase consequences. This research introduces the virtual idealization paradox, defined as the tendency of AR previews to create an overly favorable evaluative standard against which the received physical product is later judged. Drawing on expectation disconfirmation theory, we propose that AR previews elevate pre-purchase expectations by making the product appear personally situated, visually accessible, and diagnostically informative before purchase. When the received product does not meet these expectations, negative disconfirmation intensifies regret and increases product returns. Across four studies, including one laboratory experiment and three online experiments, the results support this account. Study 1 shows that, after product failure, AR increases return behavior relative to image-based previews. Study 2 demonstrates that this effect is serially mediated by expectation and regret. Study 3 identifies social proof as a boundary condition that attenuates the expectation–regret pathway. Study 4 shows that high visual realism weakens this pathway by calibrating AR-based expectations more accurately to the physical product. By linking AR-enabled preview to post-purchase corrective behavior, this research extends the literature on the dark side of AR and offers implications for designing immersive preview technologies that reduce virtual idealization.