Authors:
Ruben Grande
;
Diego Cordero
;
David Vallejo
;
Carlos González
;
Santiango Schez-Sobrino
;
Jose Jesús Castro-Schez
and
Javier Albusac
Affiliation:
School of Computer Science, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Paseo de la Universidad 4, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
Keyword(s):
Virtual Reality, e-Commerce, Gamification, Case Study, Consumer Behaviour.
Abstract:
E-commerce has embraced emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), which are transforming consumer interaction. In particular, VR enables the creation of immersive environments that simulate and enhance physical experiences, offering advantages such as gamification of the shopping process, thereby boosting user engagement and interaction. This pilot study addresses two main questions: how does the exploration of digitalized products in VR influence purchase intention? And, does a gamified experience with a specific product have an additional impact? In collaboration with a local business, an experiment involving 48 participants was designed. A portion of the store, its surroundings, and several products were digitalized using advanced techniques such as Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) and Gaussian Splatting, achieving realistic models integrated into a virtual store accessible through Meta Quest 3 headsets. One specific product, a comic book, was gam
ified, allowing users to interact with its narrative, solve challenges, and be incentivized to purchase the product to discover the ending. Preliminary results, including a conversion rate of 41.9%, suggest that VR, especially when it incorporates gamification, can increase purchase intention and interest in local products, highlighting its potential in digital commerce.
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