How do users allocate attention when shopping in different extended realities?

Abstract

Extended Reality (XR) technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have shown their capability of creating immersive experiences in a variety of fields, especially retail. However, there is yet little comparison between these technologies. Moreover, there is a dearth in understanding effects of XR-mediated environments on consumer attention. Understanding consumer attention is vital in retail since attention has an important role in consumer information processing and decision making. This study narrows these gaps by investigating consumer attention allocation with between-subject experiment consisting of a non-XR (physical) shop and three XR shops (AR, VR, and AV - the combination of AR and VR) using video-based behavioural observation (N = 159). Effects of XR technologies on consumer attention allocation are examined by measuring spatial attention duration and frequency on four areas of interest (AOIs) based on participants’ head position. The results indicate that consumer attention in VR shopping environment is similar than in a physical shop. However, there is an unexpected effect of AR environment where attention duration and frequency vary significantly in the product AOIs. In contrast, AV induced a significant difference in spatial attention duration only outside the product area. In conclusion, different XR environments can have a significant effect on consumers’ spatial attention allocation. The approach and findings of this thesis provide useful insight into consumer attention in extended realities for retailers and designers who are interested in creating XR-mediated shopping environments. In addition, this study contributes to baseline research on the comparative properties and effects of XR-technologies.