{"title":"The effectiveness of immersive media in promoting consumer Products: Augmented vs. virtual reality","authors":"Jin-Feng Wu , Zhen Zhang , Yinglu Wu , Xin-Jie Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104323","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104323","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study investigates the conditions that influence the effectiveness of immersive media in promoting consumer products. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies create virtual experiences that vary in their levels of realism. According to construal level theory, these differences can affect users’ psychological distance and, thus, their construal levels when viewing ads created using these immersive technologies. This study expands the application of construal level theory by proposing that when immersive media type and advertising appeal are construal congruent, product attitude and purchase intention are enhanced through processing fluency. The experimental study results confirm that AR outperforms VR when rational appeals are used, whereas VR is more effective with emotional appeals. In addition, product involvement moderates the matching effect between immersive media types and advertising appeals: high product involvement strengthens the matching effect between AR media and rational appeals, while low product involvement amplifies the matching effect between VR media and emotional appeals. Corresponding theoretical and managerial implications are provided.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48399,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 104323"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144084004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"First come, first served: The importance of purchase priority in new product purchase competition","authors":"Min Zhang, Jihye Park","doi":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104324","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104324","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Even when new products are not inherently scarce, where one person's purchase does not prevent another's, consumers often display competitive behavior for purchase priority. The purpose of this study is to investigate the psychological processes that motivate consumers to engage in FCFS-based competition when purchasing new products. The findings revealed that both the need for superiority and self-enhancement values increased the perceived importance of purchase priority, which in turn heightened competitive arousal. Consumers experiencing competitive arousal are more likely to anticipate favorable purchase outcomes through the FCFS discipline and to perceive it as a fairer purchasing method. Both perceived predictability and fairness of the FCFS discipline positively influenced consumers' intentions to participate in FCFS-based purchase. While prior research has primarily attributed consumer competition to scarcity conditions involving time or quantity constraints, this study extends the literature by demonstrating that competitive purchasing behavior can also emerge in non-scarcity contexts. These findings suggest that retailers can strategically employ FCFS disciplines to attract consumers who value superiority and self-enhancement, enabling them to anticipate purchasing outcomes based on their effort and investment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48399,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 104324"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144072334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Time well spent! The role of information presentation and viewing time in sustainable textile online purchase behavior: Insights from an online store experiment","authors":"Stella Franca Rösch, Cristopher Siegfried Kopplin","doi":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104297","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104297","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Given the substantial impact of the textile industry (e.g., more emissions than international flights and cruises combined) on the environment, transforming it into a more sustainable one provides huge lever effects. However, research on this matter struggles to overcome the intention-behavior gap when examining consumers' shopping behavior of sustainable textiles. Since knowledge has been identified as one of the most important factors for bridging this gap, the way information is provided plays a crucial role in enabling actual purchases of sustainable textiles. Therefore, drawing on Dual Process Theory and Cognitive Load Theory, this paper examines the role of sustainability information presentation in terms of tonality (emotional and rational) and accompanying exposure to nature imagery. Using a representative sample of n = 607 consumers of Generations Y and Z in Germany, an online experiment (2 x 2 between-subjects factorial design) was conducted. Authentic purchase behavior was approximated based on the implementation of a realistic online store environment. The results indicate that consumers’ number of items purchased, and spendings depend on the time spent viewing the sustainability information: Participants with sufficient viewing time to at least skim-read the sustainability information showed a positive effect of rational tonality on sustainable purchase behavior.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48399,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 104297"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144070274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring the adverse effects of the metaverse on users’ psychological well-being and Self-Esteem: A mixed-methods study","authors":"Yue Jia , Gustave Florentin Nkoulou Mvondo","doi":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104321","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104321","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The metaverse promises to transform various aspects of life by ushering in a new era of interconnected digital experiences. While its potential benefits have been widely discussed, the negative impacts on users' mental health remain relatively underexplored. Grounded in the psychometric paradigm of risk perception and employing a mixed-methods approach, this study investigates the adverse effects of the metaverse on users' psychological well-being and self-esteem, as well as the extent to which declines in these factors contribute to discontinuation intentions. A qualitative study (N = 28) identified six critical risks associated with metaverse usage: virtual reality sickness, addiction, metaverse-induced social comparison, depersonalization/derealization, anonymity misconduct, and identity theft concerns. These risks were categorized into dread, novel, and stigma risks. A subsequent quantitative study (N = 961) confirmed that these risks negatively affect psychological well-being and self-esteem, which, in turn, significantly influence users’ intentions to discontinue metaverse usage. These findings extend the existing literature and underscore the importance of proactive design interventions. System designers and developers are urged to address these emerging risks to ensure a safer, more ethical, and sustainable metaverse environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48399,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 104321"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143942142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Brand-transformed or celebrity-transformed? The effect of different role-transformed virtual influencers on purchase intention","authors":"Xueying Wang, Yuexian Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104318","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104318","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Virtual influencers (VIs) are utilized by brands to cultivate both commercial and friendship relationships with consumers, assuming the role of commercial friendships (a blend of business and personal engagement) that consumers expect. However, VIs have different foundational roles (i.e., commercial or friendship roles) and need transition to a commercial friendship role. It remains unclear whether VIs undergoing different role transitions-namely, brand-transformed VIs (transitioning from commercial to commercial friendship roles) and celebrity-transformed VIs (transitioning from friendship to commercial friendship roles)-can effectively meet consumer expectations and enhance purchase intention. Therefore, drawing on the media equation theory and role theory, and focusing on role transitions, this study investigates the impact of different role-transformed VIs on purchase intention. The findings from three studies demonstrate that brand-transformed VIs have a stronger impact on purchase intention compared to celebrity-transformed VIs, with cognitive trust and affective trust serving as mediators. Additionally, language style and platform type are found to moderate the aforementioned effects. This research contributes to bridging the literature on role theory and VIs, offering valuable managerial insights for brands from the role transition perspective, and providing guidance on the selection of language style and platform type.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48399,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 104318"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143935221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A co-creation involving peripheral cues: When and how engagement size generates persuasiveness","authors":"Peng Li , Yang Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104311","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104311","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>How online engagement is driven has received increasing scholarly attention, but the persuasive role of engagement size as a peripheral cue on the posting page and its underlying mechanisms remain unclear, particularly in tourism. To address this gap, we crafted a conceptual model to examine whether, when, and how engagement size generates persuasiveness on social media through five experiments. Our research reveals that macro (vs. micro) engagement size triggers positive persuasiveness by increasing perceived expertise and perceived popularity. More importantly, the cueing power of engagement size is strengthened when the event occurs in the near future and the post has a high content richness. This novel finding implies that “engagement size as a social asset” (ESASS) is an appendant property of social media content. The cueing power of engagement size is a form of “persuasion co-creation” resulting from content creators and engaged viewers. Our study contributes to firstly conceptualizing the “engagement size” and advancing the “dual-process theory of persuasion” in the social media context. Marketers, influencers, consumers, and platforms can use these findings and suggestions to guide their practice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48399,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 104311"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143932177","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Quang Huy Duong , Li Zhou , Meng Meng , Le Thuy An Dang , Tiep Duy Nguyen
{"title":"Striking the right balance: Customising return policy leniency for managing customer online return proclivity and satisfaction","authors":"Quang Huy Duong , Li Zhou , Meng Meng , Le Thuy An Dang , Tiep Duy Nguyen","doi":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104315","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104315","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>E-commerce retailers (e-tailers) commonly adopt generous return policies which not only act as a guarantee to protect the customer's purchase but also help in maintaining their satisfaction. However, this strategy can backfire by encouraging impulsive purchasing behaviour and resulting in a surge of product returns. This creates what is termed the product return policy leniency dilemma. To address that, this paper aims to empirically discover the relationships between product return policy leniency dimensions (time, monetary, effort, scope, and exchange) and two output variables – customer return proclivity and satisfaction. We develop a hybrid method combining machine learning-based data extraction and logistic regression, using a large empirical dataset comprising return policies and reviews from Walmart. The results show that three leniency dimensions – monetary, effort and scope drive customer return proclivity and satisfaction. Time only drives the satisfaction but not proclivity while exchange is in reverse. Our findings imply that customers are amenable to reasonable restrictions in return policies regarding time, effort, and exchange. However, overly lenient return policy terms may fail to adequately address the return policy dilemma. Additionally, partial refund/restocking fees are acceptable for customers with return proclivity if they perceive the initial purchasing cost heavily. Allowing some hazardous/bulky products to be returned under condition may also be seen as a generous term from prospective returners. Overall, e-tailers should display flexibility by incorporating different levels of leniency across five dimensions to balance return satisfaction and intention. This study provides e-retailers a guidance to design an appropriate bespoke return policy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48399,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 104315"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143927576","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Farzaneh Darbanian , Patrick Brandtner , Taha Falatouri , Mehran Nasseri , Sina Mirshahi
{"title":"Timing Matters: How pre- and post-holiday promotions affect fresh and frozen product sales in grocery retail","authors":"Farzaneh Darbanian , Patrick Brandtner , Taha Falatouri , Mehran Nasseri , Sina Mirshahi","doi":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104317","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104317","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the impact of promotional timing on fresh and frozen product sales during holiday periods within the supermarket sector. Using a comprehensive dataset from an Austrian retail chain, spanning six years and over 19 million transaction lines, the research highlights the critical interplay between promotional strategies, consumer purchasing behavior, and product perishability. The findings reveal that pre-holiday promotions are particularly effective for fresh products such as fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish, leveraging consumer urgency due to store closures and perishability. In contrast, frozen products exhibit more stable sales patterns, with less pronounced effects from promotional timing due to their suitability for stockpiling. The analysis emphasizes the importance of tailored promotional strategies. Five key implications emerge: the necessity of timing promotions for fresh products to capitalize on consumer urgency, the reduced sensitivity of frozen products to promotional timing, the effectiveness of promotions for high-frequency items in driving sales and traffic, the importance of customizing promotions by product type and leveraging deal intensity, and the critical role of accurate forecasting to minimize waste, particularly for frozen goods. These insights contribute to both theoretical understanding and practical strategies, offering retailers actionable recommendations to enhance sales performance, optimize inventory management, and reduce wastage during holiday periods. The study also highlights avenues for future research, including product-level analyses and the exploration of consumer behavior across different holiday types.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48399,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 104317"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143911573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Love deepens hatred! AI immorality and users’ love-becomes-hate phenomenon","authors":"Jiaxuan Li, Mingxing Han, Qinjian Yuan","doi":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104319","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104319","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the widespread application of artificial intelligence in the service industry, understanding consumers’ changing attitudes towards AI is crucial. This study explores the impact of AI immorality on the shift from “love-becomes-hate” in consumers, using three scenario-based experiments and framed within the theoretical perspective of the Relationships Breakdown model. In Study 1, cognitive dissonance and perceived betrayal were found to mediate the relationship between AI immorality and the “love-becomes-hate” transition. Studies 2 and 3 further demonstrated that technological mindfulness positively moderated the relationship between AI immorality and cognitive dissonance (Study 2). Specifically, consumers with high levels of technological mindfulness experienced more pungent cognitive dissonance when confronted with AI immorality. Additionally, social judgment positively moderated the relationship between AI immorality and perceived betrayal, with negative social judgment exacerbating the degree of perceived betrayal (Study 3). Overall, AI immorality can lead to a “love-becomes-hate” phenomenon among consumers. This study theoretically fills the gap in the mechanism of AI immorality impact on consumer psychology, expands the application field of the relationship breakdown model, and deepens the understanding of consumer emotional transformation; in practice, it provides enterprises, AI developers, and marketers with an important guide for risk control of AI ethical development, which helps to maintain good human-machine relationship and brand image.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48399,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 104319"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143904508","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wenjie Li, Graciela Corral de Zubielqui, Sally Rao Hill
{"title":"Unlocking the potential of NFTs in branding: An exploration of NFT-based brand experience","authors":"Wenjie Li, Graciela Corral de Zubielqui, Sally Rao Hill","doi":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104313","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104313","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explores the evolving intersection of branding and digital assets through the lens of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), focusing on their role in shaping dynamic brand experiences. We propose a typology framework that examines how NFTs contribute to brand experience design and provides their implications for brand-consumer relationships. The research analyses five distinct NFT functions—storytelling media, identity badges, product access pass, change medallion and gamification element—and connects these roles to five types of brand experience design: brand heritage, community, product orientation, collaboration, and gamification. The findings contribute to digital branding literature by advancing the understanding of the function of digital assets within the brand experience design. This study offers a structured understanding of the value of NFTs in digital brand building by providing the roles NFTs play in brand experience. It explores the dynamic potential of brands to integrate NFTs into their strategies in the evolving Web3 environment. Finally, the industry pattern identified in this study provides insights for scholars and practitioners seeking to utilise NFTs effectively.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48399,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 104313"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143898755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}