Transforming Retail: The Impact of Technological Innovations and the Metaverse on Shopping Experiences

Over the past decades, technological innovations have transformed the way people shop, from traditional brick-and-mortar stores to online and phygital shopping, and now to shopping in the metaverse. As a result, understanding the factors that impact shoppers’ use and perception of technologies, which in turn affect their behavioral outcomes, is a crucial role for both retail industry players and academic researchers in the retail field. In Chapter 1, I investigated the factors influencing virtual consumption in the metaverse. In the exploratory study, while looking at virtual consumption through the prism of self-extension and symbolic consumption theories and taking into consideration the social nature of metaverse worlds, I proposed that to positively impact virtual consumption, metaverse platform characteristics need to provide a comfortable environment to enhance the number and quality of social interactions, while virtual products should be designed to facilitate efficient self-extension and communication of symbolic values. The findings of my study, which included a survey of the metaverse users, revealed that the sociability of the platform (opportunities to interact in the metaverse world), the ease of making a purchase and the ease of platform use (means of comfortable environment for interactions and consumption), as well as the social and emotional values of the virtual products (means of self-extension and symbolic consumption), make a statistically significant impact on the intention to purchase virtual goods directly or indirectly. In Chapter 2, I investigated how avatar identification impacts virtual consumption and through which mechanism. Similar to Chapter 1, I viewed virtual consumption through the prism of self-extension and symbolic consumption theories. I proposed that since users extend their selves through avatars in the virtual world, they have a stronger connection, or avatar identifications, with avatars that better represent their selves, what results in a stronger intention to purchase virtual goods to enhance those avatars. The results of my research indicated that current metaverse users have different self-representation strategies (the real/better self, the other self, and the fantasy self) in the metaverse, leading to different levels of avatar identification. Furthermore, my research demonstrated that avatar identification is positively related to the intention to purchase virtual clothing/accessories through serial mediation by alerting the need for self-expression and enjoyment. In Chapter 3, I explored how technologies that provide different shopper benefits (usefulness vs. engagement) at the pre-purchase stage of the shopper journey impact shopper behavior intentions toward the retailer. In my research, through a series of four studies (surveys of consumers), I categorized 13 technologies on the basis of usefulness vs. engagement they provide and tested the impact of technologies providing different interlinks of those benefits on shopper behavior. According to the research results, the use of technologies impacts shopper behavior intentions via a mediating route through their effect on shoppers’ perceived value of their shopping experience. Additionally, the perceived usefulness of technology is a core factor impacting shoppers’ perceived value of their shopping experience and shoppers’ behavior intentions. At the same time, while engagement on its own does not make a significant impact, the combination of engagement and usefulness offers a higher value proposition to shoppers than usefulness alone. The findings from my research contribute to the academic literature by adding valuable insights to the topics of “Virtual consumption in the Metaverse” and “Shoppers and Retail Technologies”, as well as to industry professionals by providing guidance on the key characteristics of metaverse platforms and retail technologies that impact shoppers’ behavior.