Abstract
Across various customer experiences, Augmented Reality (AR) is emerging as a strategic experience design tool. This study contributes to an emerging body of research on the use of AR in the early stages of customers’ purchase journeys. Extending previous research, we propose that AR enables a unique form of customer creativity that is distinct from prior conceptualizations of creativity through its association with customer engagement. Specifically, we propose a sequential process of creative customer engagement, in which AR-enabled customer creativity stems from heightened customer engagement and, in turn, offers a source of intrinsic satisfaction for customers. In an experiment with a customer-facing AR application, we empirically demonstrate this sequential mediation process connecting the use of AR with customer engagement, customer creativity, and anticipated satisfaction. We also identify an important boundary condition based on a customer’s assessment orientation, suggesting a novel behavioral effect in the context of regulatory mode theory.
Highlights
While many customers appreciate efficient consumption experiences through standardized products and services, such offerings often neglect to engage customers in playful, creative and enjoyable experiences
We argue that the use of Augmented Reality (AR) during the early stages of the customer purchase journey influences the level of customer creativity, and the anticipated satisfaction from the creative process itself
Hypothesis H1 predicts that the use of AR sequentially leads to greater customer engagement, customer creativity, and anticipated satisfaction
Summary
While many customers appreciate efficient consumption experiences through standardized products and services, such offerings often neglect to engage customers in playful, creative and enjoyable experiences. The Akzo Nobel “Visualizer” and IKEA “Place” applications engage customers in creating unique interior designs for their homes by helping them experiment with new combinations of furniture or decorations, and enabling them to share their AR creations with others. Despite these promising developments, recent reports and research suggest that managers lack insight into how AR might engage customers and enable creative activity (CMO, 2019), and require guidance in targeting customers that will embrace AR (Hilken et al, 2018), so that they can offer more satisfying customer experiences. We explore the research question of: how does AR-enabled customer creativity arise and lead to marketing-relevant outcomes in the early stages of the customer purchase journey?
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