The Place of Virtual Reality in E-Retail

Abstract

The global pandemic of COVID-19 pushed the technological barriers and forced both retailers and potential customers to seek new ways of mutual interaction. Even though considered as mostly exclusive to the gaming industry, virtual reality has been gaining more interest outside its original niche. However, it is not clear how this new technology is going to be accepted by average customers in e-retail. This chapter focuses on defining the concept of virtual reality and providing an overview of aspects associated with virtual immersion. Further, the effects of virtual immersion are examined on a group of university students and put in a perspective with their intention to use this technology for shopping purposes in the future. The main emphasis is put on the comparison of hedonic and utilitarian factors of virtual reality adoption in e-retail.