The influence of augmented reality in consumer purchase intentions and sustainable development

Abstract

The current production and consumption model has been one of the main problems in the process of environmental degradation, in which the population, encouraged by commercial advertising, acquires unnecessary products, often returning them to the seller, which intensifies the destruction of nature and its resources. The technological evolution of recent years has created a disruptive effect on business models and consumer behavior. Transcending borders and distances, e-commerce has digitized the world into a single platform, contributing to the exponential growth of online commerce. Today's companies have developed omnichannel strategies in order to impact consumers during the entire purchase decision process.To reduce sensory limitations (visual and touch) in the online buying process, several technologies have been created and implemented, such as Augmented Reality.Thus, the objective of this dissertation was to analyze the effect of the application of Augmented Reality technology on purchase intentions and on intentions to return products, compared to the traditional online sampling model based on 2D product image display, currently implemented in most online stores.In this regard, the effects of perceptions (hedonic value, utilitarian value and perceived risk) and sensations (sense of control, attractiveness and confidence) during a shopping experience were studied. It has been proven that, in fact, Augmented Reality technology has a stronger effect on increasing purchase intentions than its traditional 2D alternative, but not on decreasing product return intentions.

Date of Award	9 Feb 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Daniel Fernandes (Supervisor)