Omnichannel Retail Customer Experience with Mixed-Reality Shopping Assistant Systems

Shubham Jain,Dirk Werth,Thomas Schweiss,Simon Bender

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-90439-5_40

Shubham Jain, Dirk Werth + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90439-5_40

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Publication Date: Jan 1, 2021
Citations: 3	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: AWS-Institute for Digitized Products and Processes

Abstract

AbstractMixed reality has been identified as one of the technologies that can be deployed in omnichannel retail to improve the customer shopping experience. The article presents a mixed reality based digital shopping assistant which aims to provide retail customers with a holistic shopping experience. Design science research methodology is used to develop this physical artifact that comprises of assisting elements: product information, reviews, recommendations and a buy button. A study was conducted with two different head-mounted displays (Microsoft HoloLens and HoloLens 2) where 29 participants evaluated the proposed physical artifact and brings out the relationship between shopping experience constructs that constitutes a modern omnichannel retail customer experience. Results show a positive attitude of customers towards the technology. Differences between the two-head mounted displays were observed in terms of perceived privacy issues. Technology adoption, enjoyment and security beliefs of the customers are observed to have a significant effect on the user’s intention to use the technology. The results also reveal that a customer’s perceived convenience, perceived service quality, attitude towards the retailer and the word of mouth are affected significantly by their intention to use the technology. These results, along with qualitative comments from the participants are used to extract research, development and deployment implications for future iterations of shopping assistant systems based on mixed reality.

Highlights

The concept of ‘omnichannel retail’ is centered around providing customers with a holistic shopping experience [1]
A shopping assistant system that leverages the qualities of Mixed Reality (MR) technology to tackle customers’ needs and improve their experience is one of the preeminent ways to row through the transition to omnichannel retail [8]
‘Enjoyability’ has been used as an added parameter of technology adoption [30, 31], even especially for MR [32], where the authors bring out the importance of the construct and its positive effect on factors like purchase intention and the attitude of the customers in a shopping journey. Developing on these findings, we propose the first hypothesis: H1: Perceived usefulness (H1a), perceived ease of use (H1b), and perceived enjoyment (H1c) have a significant effect on the intention to use the MR shopping assistant in omnichannel retail

Summary

Introduction

The concept of ‘omnichannel retail’ is centered around providing customers with a holistic shopping experience [1]. One of the key attributes of an omnichannel retail environment is the optimal deployment of novel digital technologies like digital realities, smartphones and recommender systems to enhance the customer’s shopping journey [6]. A 2D display like a monitor screen or a smartphone is unable to project an organic environment even with touch and sensor-based input methods These technologies have proven their significance for a long time but still is abstain from providing hedonism and natural interactions [20]. OSTMR complements these technologies by having the capability of not completely occluding the vision of a user during the use, and creating a pseudo immersive environment where digital and physical objects co-exist and interact with each other This makes the experience more tangible, interactive, and exciting for customers as compared to other display and interaction technologies. These holograms are enhanced by sound and light and can be interacted with, using interaction techniques provided by the device [21]

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