Factors influencing acceptance of augmented reality in retail: insights from thematic analysis

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of augmented reality (AR) on retailing by conducting thematic analysis on variables studied in the existing literature. Design/methodology/approach The data set includes 232 variables studied in 35 research papers, collected using well-defined search and inclusion criteria. Thematic analysis is used to identify patterns in the data set. Findings The eight themes emerging from the analysis are arranged in the form of a conceptual framework to model the decision-making process of users. The position of themes in the model is determined by the most dominant variable type in the theme and by employing the technology acceptance model as the reference paradigm. Research limitations/implications The current review contributes to the advancement of literature by setting a research agenda for scholars working in the field of consumer behavior and human–computer interaction. Future research should improve the generalizability of the research by replicating the method and testing the conceptual framework on other immersive technologies. Practical implications Marketers should incorporate AR technology into their experiential marketing strategies. Since integrating and managing AR technology requires expertise, organizations are advised to make use of existing toolkits or collaborate with technology companies to develop their offerings. Originality/value To maintain the uniqueness of the current study from other papers focusing on existing research done in this area, this review considers only studies using statistical techniques to study consumer behavior pertaining to AR in retail. The study uses an unconventional method for identifying patterns in the existing literature by employing theories and frameworks as the basis of classification.

Consumer decision‐making in omnichannel retailing: Literature review and future research agenda

“…Since omnichannel research is an evolving phenomenon in retailing, recent papers published in IJQRM focus on diverse aspects of omnichannel retailing, including multi‐channel versus. omnichannel (Silva et al., 2020), technology adoption (Savastano et al., 2019), augmented reality (Perannagari & Chakrabarti, 2019) and consumer behaviour (Kazancoglu and Aydin (2018). Similarly, IJPDLM published a set of supply chain‐ and logistics‐related articles on omnichannel retailing through its special issues (Galipoglu et al., 2018; Larke et al., 2018; Marchet et al., 2018; Melacini et al., 2018; Wollenburg et al., 2018b) as well as regular publications (Buldeo Rai et al., 2019b; Kembro et al., 2018; Murfield et al., 2017; Song et al, 2019b).…”

“…First, information systems theories such as the Technology Acceptance Model (Perannagari and Chakrabarti, 2019…”

“…For instance, previous studies employed the Wixom & Todd model (Shen et al., 2018), Stimulus‐Organism‐Responses model (Zhang et al, 2018b) and the Engel et al’s model (Kang, 2018, 2019) to understand factors affecting the consumer decision making process within the specific context of omnichannel retailing. The focus of existing work was largely concentrated on consumers’ psychological status, by considering behavioural, cognitive and emotional aspects in the context of omnichannel retailing (Galipoglu et al., 2018; Juaneda‐Ayensa et al., 2016; Kazancoglu & Aydin, 2018; Perannagari & Chakrabarti, 2019). However, there is a lack of research that captures the consumer's emotional and cognitive/ intellectual processing and purchasing behaviours within the omnichannel retailing context.…”

“…This in part also explains why the majority of highly cited omnichannel studies tend to be conceptual ones (Beck & Rygl, 2015; Piotrowicz & Cuthbertson, 2014; Verhoef et al., 2015), benefiting from longer time periods of scholarly attention. In terms of disciplinary orientation, review‐based studies tended to focus primarily on supply chain and logistics domains (Daugherty et al., 2019; Galipoglu et al., 2018; Kembro et al., 2018; Lafkihi et al., 2019), with few studies approaching the omnichannel literature from other perspectives like augmented reality (Perannagari & Chakrabarti, 2019), e‐fulfilment and distribution (Melacini et al., 2018) or sales management (Cummins et al., 2016).…”

Factors Affecting Augmented Reality Adoption in the Retail Industry

“…These studies are mostly based on the developed countries such as the US [10,14], UK [15], Spain [13], and Germany [16]. Only a few studies [17][18][19][20] on developing countries and the retail store context are available. Perannagari et al [17], in their thematic analysis, examined the factor of behavioral intention and identified eight themes: augmentation quality, media characteristics, value, flow concept, psychological factors, use motivation, etc.…”