The Impact of Immersive Retail Technologies on Consumer Purchase Behaviour: Evidence from Extended Reality Commerce Platforms

Abstract

The rapid expansion of XR (Extended Reality) technology has dramatically affected digital retail because XR features and capabilities allow consumers to engage with a retailer in a more immersive and interactive way, bridging the gap between shopping online and shopping in-person. In this study, IRT (Immersive Retail Technologies) and their influence on CPB (Consumer Purchase Behaviour) were examined using PSE (Perceived Shopping Experience) as a mediator and TR (Technology Readiness) as a moderator. The method employed for this research was quantitative in nature, with 451 consumers used for data collection, each with prior experience using XR-enabled retail applications. PLS-SEM (Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling) was then used to evaluate the proposed framework. Overall, it was found that IRT greatly affect both the perceived shopping experience and consumer purchase behaviour. The perceived shopping experience was identified to mediate the relationship between immersive retail technologies and purchase behaviour partially, and technology readiness intensified this relationship significantly. The paper is a contribution to the expanding amount of literature on immersive commerce that incorporates technological, experiential, and consumer-specific variables in a unitary framework. The results have significant implications for retailers wishing to improve their customers' experience, shopping experience, and purchasing results by utilizing XR technology in today’s highly competitive online shopping environment.