[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jouret/v95y2019i2p94-114.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Let Me Imagine That for You: Transforming the Retail Frontline Through Augmenting Customer Mental Imagery Ability

Author

Listed:
  • Heller, Jonas
  • Chylinski, Mathew
  • de Ruyter, Ko
  • Mahr, Dominik
  • Keeling, Debbie I.
Abstract
The rapid development of augmented reality (AR) is reshaping retail frontline operations by enhancing the offline and online customer experience. Drawing on mental imagery theory, this paper develops a conceptual framework to reflect how AR emulates customer’s cognitive processes offloading those to the technology. Consequently, the AR-enabled frontline improves decision comfort, motivates positive WOM and facilitates choice of higher value products. The underlying mechanism is a sequential mediation via improved processing fluency and decision comfort. The findings also demonstrate boundary conditions of customers’ visual processing styles and product contextuality. Object-visualisers benefit more from AR induced imagery processes, and the effect of processing fluency on customer decision comfort is moderated by product contextuality. The results are verified with repeat studies to control for novelty of AR, and a field study that highlights the impact of AR on customers’ choice and spending. We discuss implications for theory and practice of AR-enabled frontline retailing.

Suggested Citation

  • Heller, Jonas & Chylinski, Mathew & de Ruyter, Ko & Mahr, Dominik & Keeling, Debbie I., 2019. "Let Me Imagine That for You: Transforming the Retail Frontline Through Augmenting Customer Mental Imagery Ability," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 94-114.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jouret:v:95:y:2019:i:2:p:94-114
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretai.2019.03.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002243591930020X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretai.2019.03.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Herbert A. Simon, 1955. "A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 69(1), pages 99-118.
    2. Verhoef, Peter C. & Venkatesan, Rajkumar & McAlister, Leigh & Malthouse, Edward C. & Krafft, Manfred & Ganesan, Shankar, 2010. "CRM in Data-Rich Multichannel Retailing Environments: A Review and Future Research Directions," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 121-137.
    3. Lee, Woojin & Gretzel, Ulrike, 2012. "Designing persuasive destination websites: A mental imagery processing perspective," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 1270-1280.
    4. Grewal, Dhruv & Roggeveen, Anne L. & Nordfält, Jens, 2017. "The Future of Retailing," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 1-6.
    5. Hirschman, Elizabeth C., 1984. "Experience seeking: A subjectivist perspective of consumption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 115-136, March.
    6. Dacko, Scott G., 2017. "Enabling smart retail settings via mobile augmented reality shopping apps," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 243-256.
    7. Rose, Susan & Clark, Moira & Samouel, Phillip & Hair, Neil, 2012. "Online Customer Experience in e-Retailing: An empirical model of Antecedents and Outcomes," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 308-322.
    8. Ann E. Schlosser, 2006. "Learning through Virtual Product Experience: The Role of Imagery on True versus False Memories," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 33(3), pages 377-383, October.
    9. Tim Hilken & Ko de Ruyter & Mathew Chylinski & Dominik Mahr & Debbie I. Keeling, 2017. "Augmenting the eye of the beholder: exploring the strategic potential of augmented reality to enhance online service experiences," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(6), pages 884-905, November.
    10. Schlosser, Ann E, 2003. "Experiencing Products in the Virtual World: The Role of Goal and Imagery in Influencing Attitudes versus Purchase Intentions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 30(2), pages 184-198, September.
    11. Janakiraman, Narayan & Syrdal, Holly A. & Freling, Ryan, 2016. "The Effect of Return Policy Leniency on Consumer Purchase and Return Decisions: A Meta-analytic Review," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 226-235.
    12. Wanke, Michaela & Bohner, Gerd & Jurkowitsch, Andreas, 1997. "There Are Many Reasons to Drive a BMW: Does Imagined Ease of Argument Generation Influence Attitudes?," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 24(2), pages 170-177, September.
    13. MacInnis, Deborah J & Price, Linda L, 1987. "The Role of Imagery in Information Processing: Review and Extensions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 13(4), pages 473-491, March.
    14. Yoo, Jungmin & Kim, Minjeong, 2014. "The effects of online product presentation on consumer responses: A mental imagery perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(11), pages 2464-2472.
    15. Shugan, Steven M, 1980. "The Cost of Thinking," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 7(2), pages 99-111, Se.
    16. Rese, Alexandra & Baier, Daniel & Geyer-Schulz, Andreas & Schreiber, Stefanie, 2017. "How augmented reality apps are accepted by consumers: A comparative analysis using scales and opinions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 306-319.
    17. Srivastava, Mala & Kaul, Dimple, 2014. "Social interaction, convenience and customer satisfaction: The mediating effect of customer experience," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 1028-1037.
    18. Compeau, Larry D. & Grewal, Dhruv & Monroe, Kent B., 1998. "Role of Prior Affect and Sensory Cues on Consumers' Affective and Cognitive Responses and Overall Perceptions of Quality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 295-308, July.
    19. Ruyter, Ko de & Isobel Keeling, Debbie & Ngo, Liem Viet, 2018. "When nothing is what it seems: A digital marketing research agenda," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 199-203.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stefan Hoffmann & Tom Joerß & Robert Mai & Payam Akbar, 2022. "Augmented reality-delivered product information at the point of sale: when information controllability backfires," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 743-776, July.
    2. Lee, Jung Eun & Shin, Eonyou, 2020. "The effects of apparel names and visual complexity of apparel design on consumers' apparel product attitudes: A mental imagery perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 407-417.
    3. Kim, Minjeong & Kim, Jung-Hwan & Park, Minjung & Yoo, Jungmin, 2021. "The roles of sensory perceptions and mental imagery in consumer decision-making," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    4. Scholz, Joachim & Duffy, Katherine, 2018. "We ARe at home: How augmented reality reshapes mobile marketing and consumer-brand relationships," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 11-23.
    5. Zhao, Min & Xia, Lan, 2021. "Joint or separate? The effect of visual presentation on imagery and product evaluation," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 935-952.
    6. Sung, Eunyoung (Christine), 2021. "The effects of augmented reality mobile app advertising: Viral marketing via shared social experience," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 75-87.
    7. Ghiassaleh, Arezou & Kocher, Bruno & Czellar, Sandor, 2024. "The effects of benefit-based (vs. attribute-based) product categorizations on mental imagery and purchase behavior," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 100(2), pages 239-255.
    8. Ha, Sejin & Huang, Ran & Park, Jee-Sun, 2019. "Persuasive brand messages in social media: A mental imagery processing perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 41-49.
    9. Carsten D. Schultz & Björn Gorlas, 2023. "Magic mirror on the wall: Cross-buying at the point of sale," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 1677-1700, September.
    10. Joerß, Tom & Hoffmann, Stefan & Mai, Robert & Akbar, Payam, 2021. "Digitalization as solution to environmental problems? When users rely on augmented reality-recommendation agents," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 510-523.
    11. Hsu, Sheila Hsuan-Yu & Tsou, Hung-Tai & Chen, Ja-Shen, 2021. "“Yes, we do. Why not use augmented reality?†customer responses to experiential presentations of AR-based applications," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    12. Fan, Xiaojun & Chai, Zeli & Deng, Nianqi & Dong, Xuebing, 2020. "Adoption of augmented reality in online retailing and consumers’ product attitude: A cognitive perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    13. William Fritz & Rhonda Hadi & Andrew Stephen, 2023. "From tablet to table: How augmented reality influences food desirability," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 503-529, May.
    14. Dhruv Grewal & Stephanie M. Noble & Anne L. Roggeveen & Jens Nordfalt, 2020. "The future of in-store technology," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 96-113, January.
    15. Ho, Xuan Huong & Nguyen, Dong Phong & Cheng, Julian Ming Sung & Le, Angelina Nhat Hanh, 2022. "Customer engagement in the context of retail mobile apps: A contingency model integrating spatial presence experience and its drivers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    16. Huang, Tseng-Lung, 2019. "Psychological mechanisms of brand love and information technology identity in virtual retail environments," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 251-264.
    17. Banik, Shanta & Gao, Yongqiang, 2023. "Exploring the hedonic factors affecting customer experiences in phygital retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    18. Li, Chia-Ying & Fang, Yu-Hui, 2020. "I searched, I collected, I experienced: Exploring how mobile augmented reality makes the players go," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    19. Molinillo, Sebastian & Aguilar-Illescas, Rocío & Anaya-Sánchez, Rafael & Carvajal-Trujillo, Elena, 2022. "The customer retail app experience: Implications for customer loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    20. Arghashi, Vahideh & Yuksel, Cenk Arsun, 2022. "Interactivity, Inspiration, and Perceived Usefulness! How retailers’ AR-apps improve consumer engagement through flow," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jouret:v:95:y:2019:i:2:p:94-114. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.