A Study on Immersion and Emotions’ Influence on Impulse Buying in Virtual Environments

Abstract

Impulse buying has always been an interesting phenomenon that is observed in our daily lives. Statistics have shown that impulse purchases make up almost 40% of all purchases made online. Many studies have examined impulse buying, and they have found that emotions accompany impulsive behaviors naturally. With the recent development in virtual reality (VR) technology, this phenomenon is observable in online virtual environments. Retailers can create immersive virtual shops where the customer can walk among the aisles of a virtual store and make purchases. This study examines whether the effects of emotions on impulse buying vary across different immersion levels (2D vs. VR) and gender. To test our hypotheses, we collected data from the 2D and VR setting using experiments. The results provide evidence that gender plays a significant role in the three-way relationship between positive/negative emotions, immersion, and impulse buying. The unique setting of our research extends the literature on impulse buying, marketing, and virtual reality. The results offer valuable insights to marketers and retailers who want to develop virtual shops and influence impulse buying in these virtual shops.