Augmented reality enhanced experiences in restaurants: Scale development and validation

Abstract

This study aims to develop a measurement scale to assess consumer's AR-enhanced experiences in a restaurant setting. This study employed multiple waves of data collection. In the first stage, 84 respondents were approached to inquire about AR-based experiences in a restaurant setting. Based on the qualitative data and subsequent checks, 31 items were included in the pool, sent to 7 subject experts for assessment, resulting in 25 items. Based on the data collected from 346 respondents, these 25 items were then subjected to an Exploratory Factor Analysis, resulting in 19 items under three dimensions, including (1) Utilitarian, (2) Hedonics, and (3) Social. This factorial structure was then subjected to a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) for validation using the second wave of data collected from 664 respondents. Results showed a good model fit for a three-dimensional structure with no higher-order construct. Thus, this is the first study to develop and validate a measurement scale to assess consumer's AR-enhanced experiences to explore one of the most recent technologies that are just finding its way into the hospitality industry.