Consumer store experience through virtual reality: its effect on emotional states and perceived store attractiveness

Based on the stimuli-organism-response model, this study aims to examine whether consumers’ store experience through virtual reality (VR), compared to website experience, can attract them enough to perceive the online store as appealing. Two types of stimuli were developed for the experiments: consumers’ VR store experience (106 data) (i.e., having respondents experience 360-degree-based VR store videos recorded at a fashion retailer) and store website experience (107 data) (i.e., having respondents experience the same store’s website). The results revealed that relative to an ordinary store website, consumers’ VR store experience evoked positive emotions and increased perceived store attractiveness. This study also discovered that store familiarity does not moderate the relationship between the two store experience types and evoked emotions, implying that VR technology is effective regardless of consumers’ familiarity with a store. Text analytics were also utilized, providing additional insights about their VR store experiences. This study suggests an effective method for online retailers to emulate an attractive store environment and entice consumers through VR, regardless of the retailers’ fame. Specifically, it demonstrates the effectiveness of VR over website in enhancing store attractiveness, an under-studied area.