The Impact of VR/AR-Based Consumers’ Brand Experience on Consumer–Brand Relationships

Abstract

This study aims to identify types of virtual/augmented reality–based brand experiences (VR/AR experiences) to understand their impacts on consumer–brand relationships. For this study, brand experiences were divided into four types: entertainment, aesthetic, educational, and real-escape experiences. Today, consumers can experience virtual/augmented reality–based brand experiences. In this study, a survey of consumers who participated in brand experiences was conducted. A total of 518 consumers participated in the survey. To verify the study hypotheses, structural equation modeling was conducting using the EQS 6 program. The results confirmed that entertainment, aesthetic, educational, and real-escape experiences were the main types of brand experiences that consumers accessed through AR/VR technologies. Additionally, brand experiences utilizing VR/AR technologies were found to affect consumer–brand relationship-building. Moreover, consumer–brand relationships were found to have a positive effect on consumer satisfaction, which, in turn, had a positive effect on purchase intentions. Furthermore, perceived brand authenticity played an important role in moderating the relationship between the brand experience types and consumer–brand relationship-building. It was found that there were interactions between study participants who perceived brand authenticity as high or low with all regulatory variables. These empirical studies of actual consumers’ AR and VR have the advantage of being able to present the most reliable analysis method for researchers to access their goals through various statistical data and analysis techniques. One of the most important factors in empirical research is sample size. This is because samples have a significant impact on generalizing the results. This means that the validity of the research results is high. The impact of VR and AR on sustainability examined in this study, the impact of VR and AR, and consumer-brand relationship building tried to deviate from the existing perspective in explaining sustainable behavior. It is judged that it contributed to grasping the causal relationship by establishing the relationship with the variables of brand experience with VR and AR and purchase intention. The fact that this study established the impact of VR and AR experience in predicting sustainable behavior of consumers contributed to the field of sustainable marketing.