PurposeHigh-street fashion retail faces an uncertain future because of fluctuating consumer shopping habits. To revive fashion retailers, adopting disruptive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) becomes important to offer highly valued consumer experiences. Yet v-commerce designers still lack sufficient guidance to create effective retail environments. This paper establishes the v-commerce experience that targets fashion consumers’ desire and presents 13 specific design guidelines.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, 22 participants, 20 consumers and two VR developers were interviewed regarding attitudes towards VR, motivation to shop through v-commerce and the moderating variables that influence virtual environment perceptions.FindingsConsumers expect a vivid shopping environment with authentic product features instead of the more common simulated environment. Hedonically motivated consumers are more open to v-commerce than utilitarian consumers and consumers aged 18–34 years regard interactivity, personalisation and social networking as critical to offer a cost-efficient shopping experience.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper explored the ways v-commerce delivers creative experiences to facilitate consumer purchase behaviour, contributing to the high street's regeneration. Yet consumers have too high expectations of lifelike interaction in v-commerce, which is beyond contemporary VR's capabilities. Future research should focus on developing authenticity of v-commerce environments, i.e. vivid interaction with product and people.Originality/valueThis paper establishes the fundamental design rules for v-commerce platforms, enabling designers to create effective retail environments, sympathetic to the consumer's cognitive desires.

This literature review reveals the current research focus, underlying themes and prominent research gaps in the Virtual Reality (VR) literature. 89 journal articles from the 22 years are thematically analysed in order to non-obvious reveal interconnections and themes, including research focus over time and underlying themes by research discipline. Over half of all papers focus on the need to understand the VR shopping consumer, yet no consensus exists as to what the optimal experience is or how to design effective v-Commerce stores. The most prominent research gaps are related to the unique HCI aspects in v-Commerce that influence shopping behaviours. The impact of this review is establishing the current challenges and future directions for academia in order to make v-Commerce a viable reality. Specifically, future research should focus on develop human factor theory in VR shop design (i.e. social dimension, eye-tracking etc.).

PurposeTo develop compelling augmented reality (AR) experiences, this paper aims to examine AR value to physical fashion retail, defines the most effective form (e.g. app vs magic mirror) and assesses AR’s impact on consumer behaviour.Design/methodology/approachThis study comprises two phases. Phase one conducted three co-design workshops with 15 participants (aged 18–34) to evaluate current shopping modes and discover design opportunities. Phase two designed two AR prototypes (AR Branded App and Magic Mirror) and evaluated the prototypes through experience prototype experiments with 42 participants.FindingsParticipants have a positive attitude towards AR shopping adoption, improving consumer satisfaction and boosting purchase intention. AR technology can be the value in enjoyment to make the shopping experience more fun. However, no participants thought entertainment would trigger their intention to use AR. Therefore, designing useful AR apps that provide substantial functional benefits with enjoyment-oriented elements will encourage consumers to engage in high-street physical retail. In this way, consumers can interact with products and receive more information. AR can help luxury brands tell a story from a hedonic perspective, enabling consumers to engage with the story while maintaining human interaction to ensure an elevated level of service quality.Originality/valueThis study devises six design requirements to guide innovators and retailers in creating AR retail environments that satisfy their customer’s desires.

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