The mediation effect of marketing activities toward augmented reality: the perspective of extended customer experience

Abstract

Purpose

In this era of smartphone applications, brands are actively developing applications to occupy the consumer’s mobile phone space, adding many practical functions to their applications to increase brand exposure or consumer interest in the brand. Augmented reality (AR) has evolved rapidly in the past decade because of technological breakthroughs, making AR no longer an untouchable technology, but one that can be easily used on almost every phone. Therefore, this study aims to combine extended customer experience with AR marketing activities to explain and predict usage and purchase intention.

Design/methodology/approach

The eight key factors integrated into the extended customer experience are used as environmental stimulation factors, and Wanna Kicks and FitGlasses are used as experimental environments. A total of 193 valid samples were collected from users with AR experience. The empirical data is processed and verified by partial least squares in this study.

Findings

Customer experience has received increasing attention in the field of marketing research. This study developed a model to evaluate the antecedents and consequences of AR marketing activities by systematically adding customer experience, continuance intention, purchase intention and customer engagement, and then linking them to the AR application environment. This study presents the academic and practical implications, which can provide future research directions and references for brand marketing strategies and AR applications.

Originality/value

This study adds interactivity, vividness, perceived usefulness and novelty to the extended concept of customer experience. Therefore, the authors proposed that the extended customer experience can be used to measure the perceptions related to AR applications. This study is expected to provide scholars and practitioners in AR fields with a better understanding of the causes and consequences of customer experience with innovative technologies and to suggest effective marketing recommendations.

研究目的

在这个智能手机应用时代, 品牌积极发展能占据消费者的手机空间的应用软件, 在已有的应用软件上增加了许多实用性功能来增加品牌曝光或消费者对品牌的兴趣。增强现实 (AR) 在过去十年中由于技术突破从而发展迅速, 让AR不再触不可及, 而是几乎可以在每部手机上轻松使用的技术。因此, 本研究通过结合 AR 营销活动以及延展顾客体验, 来以解释和预测用户使用和购买意向。

研究设计/方法/途径

本研究用延展顾客体验模型中的八项关键因素来作为环境刺激因素, Wanna Kicks 和 FitGlasses 用作实验环境。 本研究从具有 AR 经验的用户那里收集193个有效样本。数据通过偏最小二乘法来进行处理和验证。

研究发现

客户体验在营销领域受到越来越多的关注。本研究通过系统地添加客户的 体验、持续意向、购买意向和客户参与度, 然后将它们链接到 AR 应用环境来评估AR 营销活动的前因和后果来建立了一项模型。本研究提出了学术和实践意义, 可以提供未来的研究方向品牌营销策略和AR应用提供参考。

研究原创性/价值

这项研究对客户体验扩展概念增加了交互性、生动性、感知有用性、以及新颖性。因此, 我们建议延展客户体验模型可运用于衡量与 AR 应用相关的用户感知。本研究旨在为学者和AR领域的从业者关于创新技术的客户体验的因果提供更进一步的认知, 并提出有效的营销建议。

Citation

Chen, S.-C., Chou, T.-H., Hongsuchon, T., Ruangkanjanases, A., Kittikowit, S. and Lee, T.-C. (2022), "The mediation effect of marketing activities toward augmented reality: the perspective of extended customer experience", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 461-480. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-03-2021-0093