The Role of Temporal Distance, Conspicuous Consumption, and Multisensory Interfaces on Consumer Judgments in Metaverse

Metaverse has generated considerable interest among marketers and scholars as it offers an unmatched immersive experience to users. Building on the literature on construal theory and conspicuous consumption, this research examines how and why Metaverse interfaces (2D and 3D) influence users’ purchase intentions and shopping experiences in the Metaverse as a self-extension. This research addresses calls for research on the role of multisensory in the Metaverse. First, this research extends and compliments prior work on haptics and multisensory aspects of different interfaces. The limited research on the Metaverse has explored multiple dimensions within Metaverse space. This research explicitly compares Metaverse with smartphone apps, as most consumers use it for online purchases. Our results contrast with earlier findings, suggesting that users prefer VR over apps for purchasing hedonic products. Our findings suggest that consumer prefer using apps over Metaverse for both instant and later consumption. This difference could be attributed to how users access Metaverse (with a headset) instead of VR features on mobile apps. The results highlight the importance of smartphones in online purchases as users are accustomed to apps due to the convenience and easy-to-use user interfaces of shopping apps.