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The purpose of the study is to investigate the effects of interactivity and vividness on perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment and their consequent impacts on consumer behavioral responses in a retail furniture VR store context. Considering the lack of VR empirical research, the indirect effect of interactivity and vividness on perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment through telepresence and the moderating effect of consumer previous experience with VR are also included.

A commercial IKEA VR store was chosen for the study. Head-mounted display (HMD) VR headsets were employed for the VR shopping experience. The study was conducted at a laboratory at a large university in the southeastern United States. A total of 146 college students participated in the study.

Vividness had significant positive effects on perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment, which in turn influenced attitude towards VR and behavioral intentions. Interactivity did not have positive impacts on perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment. However, it indirectly affected perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment through telepresence. The findings also proved the moderating effect of consumer previous VR experience between interactivity and perceived usefulness and between interactivity and perceived enjoyment. The relationship between attitude and behavioral intentions was also positive.

Notwithstanding the benefits of VR in relation to its utilitarian, hedonic, and behavioral values, little is known about consumers' responses towards the usage of VR as a shopping tool. The present study can be considered as a starting point in understanding the usefulness of VR from consumer and managerial perspectives. The findings of VR indicated in the study will help practitioners understand the urgency of adopting VR in a retail setting.

The purpose of the study is to investigate how mental imagery evoked from sensory in-store experience influences consumer anticipatory emotion, perceived ownership and decision satisfaction which eventually impact positive consumer responses such as behavioural intent. In this study, gender difference is proposed as a moderator to completely understand the role of mental imagery in the in-store decision-making process.

Using a market research agency in South Korea, an online survey was employed to collect data. A total of 455 useable respondents (men = 224 and women = 231) largely living in the two most populous provinces in South Korea (i.e. Seoul and Gyeonggi provinces) completed the survey. A number of path analyses were conducted to test hypotheses.

The results of the study showed that mental imagery evoked from sensory product experience played a critical part in facilitating the consumer decision-making process by influencing anticipatory emotion and perceived ownership. The relationship among anticipatory emotion, perceived ownership, decision satisfaction and behavioural intent was significant except for the relationship between perceived ownership and behavioural intent. This study further indicated that the way mental imagery influences the in-store decision-making process differs between men and women.

The effect of mental imagery in a physical retail context is largely ignored. This study addressed the crucial role of mental imagery in a physical apparel retail setting and examined its impact on consumer decision-making processes. By exploring how to enhance consumers' in-store sensory shopping experiences through mental imagery to influence their positive shopping outcomes, this study offers vital insights into how retailers operating physical stores can successfully utilize their stores.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of visual and verbal information presentations on mental imagery, perceived informativeness and purchase intention. The study assesses two types of product-related information: (1) visual information: static product images and augmented reality (AR) and (2) verbal information: abstract and concrete product reviews.

A total of 320 mobile consumers participated in the experiment. To increase external validity, this study was conducted in an existing digital shopping environment.

The results suggest that AR has a greater effect on consumers' shopping outcomes than static images. The findings further reveal that concrete product reviews are important in increasing mental imagery, perceived informativeness and purchase intention when visual information does not provide an AR function.

This study contributes to the current literature by providing empirical support for AR effects and concrete reviews on consumer responses. The results further provide an important perspective for retailers seeking ways to develop effective information presentations in digital retailing.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether any differences exist between high- and low/middle-income Generation Y luxury consumers in terms of their service quality perceptions on luxury fashion brands’ own official e-commerce sites.

This study focused on actual luxury consumers who purchased luxury fashion items from luxury fashion brands’ e-commerce sites. An online survey asked participants to evaluate their perceptions of e-service attributes available on luxury fashion brands’ own official e-commerce sites based on their experience with the site. A total of 123 usable respondents obtained.

Of the nine e-service quality dimensions identified, efficiency and web appearance were significant dimensions affecting high-income Generation Y luxury fashion consumers’ overall e-satisfaction. For low/middle-income Generation Y luxury fashion consumers, order/delivery management, personalization and trust were crucial factors that affected overall e-satisfaction.

Despite the growth of luxury e-commerce sales and the increasing interest in luxury consumption by consumers from a variety of demographic groups, little research has focused on how luxury consumers perceive luxury brands’ own official e-commerce site and how luxury fashion brands develop their own e-commerce sites to meet demographically dissimilar customers’ necessities. The findings of the study provide valuable practical implications to luxury fashion brands by proving that luxury consumers are unalike and that their perceptions on e-service quality are dissimilar based on different income levels.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether service attributes available on women's apparel web sites differ from those available on men's apparel web sites in relation to the nine dimensions of E‐A‐S‐QUAL (E‐S‐QUAL for apparel).

Using three separate sources, 97 women's and 97 men's apparel web sites were selected, which constituted a variety of apparel retail web sites that are a fair representation of available US retail apparel web sites. ANOVAs and chi‐square analysis were performed.

The results of content analysis suggest that differences exist between women's and men's apparel web sites in providing online services that improve e‐service quality in such a way that women's web sites provided more service attributes that improve e‐service quality than men's web sites.

The results of content analysis suggest that the distribution or availability of almost half the e‐service attributes analyzed significantly differed between women's and men's apparel web sites. For the further growth of men's apparel shopping via the internet, e‐retailers of men's apparel need to provide e‐services at a more sophisticated level.

This study provides valuable information to both men's and women's apparel e‐retailers to understand their current performance in delivering e‐service and areas for improvement.

This study aims to examine how buying environment characteristics, which are not directly associated with price or product information, are related to overall e‐satisfaction; and how e‐satisfaction and e‐loyalty are interrelated.

A convenience sample of 366 female and male college students from three universities (East coast, Midwest and West coast) participated. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling via LISREL 8.0 were conducted.

The findings showed that, of the six dimensions of buying environment characteristics, convenience, web appearance and entertainment value had a direct effect on e‐satisfaction. In addition, the study found a significant positive relationship between e‐satisfaction and e‐loyalty.

Generalizing the results is limited by the use of a convenience sample of college students. To generalize the findings, more diversified random samples across gender and age are suggested.

The research provides useful implications to online retailers concerning which attributes should be given closer attention to improve customer satisfaction and e‐loyalty.

The study provides useful, practical information to online retailers by showing how customer‐centered e‐service attributes have an impact on e‐satisfaction, which in turn influences consumer e‐loyalty.

This research aims to examine how the amount of information provided on a web site affects consumers' perceived risk, satisfaction, intention to revisit, and purchase intent.

A convenience sample of 220 female college students participated in an online experiment. Confirmatory factor analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, and structural equation modeling were conducted.

Significant main effects were found for amount of information on consumers' perceived risk and satisfaction; significant causal relationships were found among perceived risk, satisfaction, intention to revisit, and purchase intent.

Generalizing the findings of the study is limited by the use of only female college student participants and the use of a single type of online retailing. Therefore, future research should consider varied samples and a variety of types of online retail settings to generalize the findings.

The study demonstrates the effect of amount of information on consumers' online shopping behaviors. To reduce risk perception and impact positive consumer shopping behaviors, online retailers should pay attention to the amount of information available on their web sites.

The study provides valuable practical insights to online retailers and academic researchers by suggesting the importance of providing sufficient amounts of information on a web site.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of web site atmospherics such as music and product presentation on consumers' emotional, cognitive, and conative responses in online shopping.

A convenience sample of 272 female college students participated in a web experiment employing a 2 (Product presentation: flat vs model)×2 (Music: present vs absent) between‐subjects factorial design.

The findings of this study showed that: product presentation (model vs flat) had a significant effect on consumers' emotional responses; and there were positive relationships among consumers' emotional, cognitive, and conative responses. Unexpectedly, music had no effect on consumers' emotional responses.

Generalizing the results of this study is limited by the use of a convenience sample of college women.

Online retailers need to pay more attention on developing effective online atmospherics that evoke positive shopping outcomes. Based on the findings, product presentation using a model as compared to flat is recommended for online apparel retailers.

The current study confirmed the stimulus‐organism‐response relationship by showing that product presentation (online stimuli) affected emotion and attitude towards the site (emotional/cognitive states) and consequently influences purchase intent (response). Thus, this study provides practical, useful information to web site designers and online retailers by indicating that how web site atmospherics lead to positive consumer shopping outcomes.

The objectives of this study are to: evaluate the task relevance of information components of apparel retail web sites from consumer perspectives; assess the performance of extant apparel retail web sites in providing both high and low task‐relevant information components; and explore whether differences in performance exist across different types of internet retailers.

Survey methodology was used to assess the task relevance of apparel web site information components from the consumers' perspective and a content analysis of apparel retail web sites was conducted to assess the availability of information components from apparel retail web sites.

The study finds that availability of high and low task‐relevant information varied regardless of task‐relevance. For both high and low task‐relevant information components, catalog e‐tailers provided the most information, followed in order by multi‐channel retailers, store e‐tailers, and pure e‐tailers.

This study can assist web site designers in meeting the needs of consumers by providing comprehensive understanding of the role of task‐relevant information in relation to internet shoppers' perceptions of the web site. In addition, the coding guide developed in this study provides an easy and practical tool that can be used by internet retailers for the self‐assessment of web site service performance.