TY - JOUR
T1 - Bridging Imagination Gaps on the Path to Purchase with Augmented Reality
T2 - Field and Experimental Evidence
AU - Hilken, Tim
AU - Heller, Jonas
AU - Keeling, Debbie I.
AU - Chylinski, Mathew
AU - Mahr, Dominik
AU - de Ruyter, Ko
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© American Marketing Association 2022.
PY - 2022/4/13
Y1 - 2022/4/13
N2 - Many firms use augmented reality (AR) that projects lifelike product holograms into the physical environment to assist customers in bridging so-called “imagination gaps,” which can arise on their path to purchase. However, research has not yet studied whether and how AR might help customers address two pertinent sources of such imagination gaps: (1) increased cognitive load when evaluating multiple products together (e.g., in a bundle) and (2) extended physical distance to the point-of-sale (e.g., out-of-store, at home). Building on mental imagery theorizing, we explain how AR supports customers in bridging these gaps, and, through a series of field and experimental studies, we evidence effects on customer purchase intentions and behavior. Specifically, we show that AR-generated imagery of bundled (versus individual) products enhances intended and actual purchases at the point-of-sale. Furthermore, when deployed at distant points in the purchase funnel (out-of-store, at-home), AR increases purchases through improved self-projection, which we describe as the psychological mechanism customers use to mentally bridge distance to the point-of-sale. We qualify this mediating mechanism through an important moderating process, where the effect of AR-generated imagery on self-projection is suppressed for customers with a holistic (versus analytic) thinking style.
AB - Many firms use augmented reality (AR) that projects lifelike product holograms into the physical environment to assist customers in bridging so-called “imagination gaps,” which can arise on their path to purchase. However, research has not yet studied whether and how AR might help customers address two pertinent sources of such imagination gaps: (1) increased cognitive load when evaluating multiple products together (e.g., in a bundle) and (2) extended physical distance to the point-of-sale (e.g., out-of-store, at home). Building on mental imagery theorizing, we explain how AR supports customers in bridging these gaps, and, through a series of field and experimental studies, we evidence effects on customer purchase intentions and behavior. Specifically, we show that AR-generated imagery of bundled (versus individual) products enhances intended and actual purchases at the point-of-sale. Furthermore, when deployed at distant points in the purchase funnel (out-of-store, at-home), AR increases purchases through improved self-projection, which we describe as the psychological mechanism customers use to mentally bridge distance to the point-of-sale. We qualify this mediating mechanism through an important moderating process, where the effect of AR-generated imagery on self-projection is suppressed for customers with a holistic (versus analytic) thinking style.
KW - 512 Business and Management
KW - augmented reality
KW - mental imagery
KW - imagination gaps
KW - purchase funnel
KW - product bundles
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130740215&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/208512f8-6ed8-393c-935b-8a7cb40fb586/
U2 - 10.1177/10949968221083555
DO - 10.1177/10949968221083555
M3 - Article
SN - 1094-9968
VL - 57
SP - 356
EP - 375
JO - Journal of Interactive Marketing
JF - Journal of Interactive Marketing
IS - 2
ER -