From virtual reality to augmented reality: A neuromarketing perspective

Abstract

Neuromarketing, virtual reality, and augmented reality in consumer behaviorRecent studies on consumer behaviors showed that the role of neuroscientific tools in increasing the knowledge of the neural mechanism is involved in the decision and emotional processes (Russo et al., 2022). Neuromarketing refers to the use of such tools in business practices, especially in advertising and marketing research (Ramsøy, 2019). It aims to overcome the limitations of the traditional methodologies by directly investigating emotional and cognitive reactions through electrophysiological and biometric measures (Karmarkar and Plassmann, 2019). In fact, traditional research uses self-report measures to investigate emotions, but this measurement is not sufficient to capture the complexity of the emotional experience since it is based on cognitive processes allowing to only investigate the conscious side of emotions (Micu and Plummer, 2010), and it is subjected to cognitive bias or social desirability (Missaglia et al., 2017). Neuroscience applied to consumer psychology can be crucial in understanding the role of advertising or other stimuli in the consumers' processing phases, wherein emotions can build meaning (Passyn and Sujan, 2006).Nowadays, consumers' needs are not only related to the product/service as such but also to the associated buying experience that must be enchanting, captivating, and fascinating (Kazmi et al., 2021). Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies represent suitable candidates, given their abilities to produce intense and enhanced experiences (Slater et al., 2020). In marketing, VR has been investigated in different areas, such as the product and offer perception (Grudzewski et al., 2018), the impact on B2B buyer perceptions (Boyd and Koles, 2019), the evaluation of brands, and how they can be perceived depending on the vividness effect of VR (Van Kerrebroeck et al., 2017), and the tourism sector with highlights for the tourism promotion (Adachi et al., 2020). In marketing, AR is considered "a strategic concept that integrates digital information or objects into the subject's perception of the physical world, often in combination with other media, to expose, articulate, or demonstrate consumer benefits to achieve organizational goals" (Rauschnabel et al., 2019, p.44). Thanks to 3D virtual objects or environments -most of which are interactive (Javornik, 2016a)-placed into the Frontiers in Psychology 01 frontiersin.org

Augmented Reality Marketing Implementation in Greek SMEs - A SWOT Analysis

“…AR seamlessly bridges the chasm between consumers and commodities, furnishing a novel, interactive medium for consumers to resonate with and engage in brands (Kumar & Srivastava, 2022). Neuromarketing research posits that AR, in tandem with virtual reality (VR), elucidates the neural underpinnings governing decision-making and emotional processes (Russo et al, 2022). Such profound insights into consumer behavior grant marketers the acumen to devise highly efficacious, bespoke marketing campaigns.…”

Virtual emotions and Criminal Law

“…Thus, consumer decisions are not solely based on the characteristics of the product itself but also on the emotional connection that can be established with the product, the brand, and the purchasing experience. This is the basis of neuromarketing: applying neuroscientific knowledge to consumer psychology to influence their responses to the product through pleasurable emotions and arousal, particularly in advertising and customer loyalty (Russo et al, 2022). And for this reason, virtual reality and augmented reality are especially qualified environments for generating positive consumer attitudes toward the product, brand, and experience due to their immersive, interactive, and personalized nature (Kerrebroeck et al, 2017;Uhm et al, 2020;Dwivedi et al, 2023).…”

Experimental studies of advertising message effectiveness in virtual reality

“…VR is a rapidly expanding topic, both in terms of technological advances and the domains of its applicationsincluding experimental marketing research (Beck et al 2019;Wei et al 2019) or application in ecotourism (Folgado-Fernández et al, 2023). There is also a great interest in conducting such studies with simultaneous recording of the activity of the nervous system using various tools and methods of cognitive neuroscience (Russo et al, 2022), however, the question arises -does this research concern the use of a virtual reality system to pre-test various variants of the message at the stage of planning an advertising campaign? For the purposes of this article, a literature review was made according to the procedure presented in Figure 1.…”

“…In total, 21 articles were received (12+9), of which 3 were repeated in both phases -thus 18 publications were then analyzed in the context of the research question. It turned out that (Hernández-Fernández et al, 2019) does not refer to VR, while (Russo et al, 2022) presents only theoretical considerations on the possibility of using VR and neurotechnics in marketing. As many as 7 publications found (Słupińska et al 2021;Baumann and Sayette 2006;Mancini et al 2021;Pozharliev et al 2021;Ershow et al 2011;Wang et al 2019;Skeva et al 2021) does not describe the use of VR in advertising, although one of them discusses experimental research in VR using cognitive neuroscience techniques (Słupińska et al 2021).…”