Effect of Salesperson Avatar Automatically Mimicking Customer’s Nodding on the Enjoyment of Conversation in Virtual Environments

Abstract

As the VR industry continues to expand, one area gaining attention is its application in the retail sector. In customer service, a crucial aspect of retail, the skills of a salesperson are vital. However, research on VE in this field is still limited. Imitation behavior is known to be an essential customer service skill. Therefore, this study focuses on the effect of nodding imitation by a salesperson’s avatar on customer service in VE. Consequently, an experiment was conducted in which an avatar of a salesperson that automatically mimics nodding was implemented and provided customer service in a virtual store that simulated a furniture store. The results revealed that when the avatar of the salesperson mimicked nodding, the item of enjoyable interaction aspect of rapport was higher, and a significant difference was observed. This results contribute to the development of customer service within VE and have potential implications for creating effective salesperson avatars.