Virtual reality (VR) has been set with an expectation of becoming the technology to enable new electronic businesses on metaverse platforms. VR is an application of three-dimensional computer graphics to create a convincing virtual environment where users can interact (Cowan & Ketron, 2019). The most used immersive VR devices are head-mounted displays. Importantly, in addition to visual sense, auditory, haptic, and olfactory senses stimulating devices are used in conjunction with head-mounted displays to reach a multi-sensory VR experience (Xi & Hamari, 2021). VR has been part of the brand strategy for various marketing endeavours (Cowan & Ketron, 2019) such as viewing furniture or kitchen setups by IKEA or creating virtual customer experiences in the real estate sector. However, VR’s impact on the consumer thought model has not been thoroughly examined. This extended abstract contributes to this shortcoming.

Consumers have an increasingly active role in the marketing cycle, using social media channels to create, distribute, and consume digital content. In this context, this paper investigates the impact of user- and marketer-generated content on consumer purchase intentions and the approach to designing an effective social media marketing platform. Referencing a literature review of social media marketing and consumer purchase intentions, a case study of the social media-marketing platform, 0.8L, was undertaken using both qualitative and quantitative results through content analysis and a participatory survey. First, about 450 consumer reviews for ten sunscreen products posted on the 0.8L platform were compared with products’ marketer-generated content. Next, 55 subjects participated in a survey regarding purchase intentions toward moisturizing creams on the 0.8L platform. The results indicated that user-generated content (i.e., texts and photos) provided more personal experiences of the product usage process, whereas marketers focused on distinctive product photos and features. Moreover, customer reviews (particularly high volume and narrative format) had more impact on purchase decisions than marketer information in the online cosmetics market. Real users’ honest reviews (both positive and negative) were found to aid companies’ prompt and straightforward assessment of newly released products. In addition to the importance of customer-driven marketing practices, distinctive user experience design features of a competitive social media-marketing platform are identified to facilitate the creation and sharing of sincere customer reviews that resonate with potential buyers.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the role of information on shapewear’s functionality in consumers’ purchase decisions in an online shopping context. Through two steps of stimulus development process, four mock websites were developed to conduct a main study. In the main study, a 2 (visual information: absent vs. present images of the shapewear’s functionality) x 2 (verbal information: absent vs. present descriptions of the shapewear’s functionality) between-subject factorial design was employed to examine the impact of visual and verbal information regarding the functionality of shapewear on the consumer decision-making process (i.e., attitudes and purchase intentions). The results showed that verbal information about how shapewear reduces the size of specific body parts (i.e., waist, abdomen, hips, and thighs) were effective in increasing perceived attractiveness in an online context, which increased attitudes and purchase intentions. In addition, attitudes toward the shapewear mediated the effects of expected physical attractiveness on purchase intentions. The results of this study provided empirical support for the importance of expected physical attractiveness in consumers’ online purchase decision on shapewear and useful managerial implications for enhancing the effectiveness of online shapewear presentations by including descriptions of the functionality of shapewear in decreasing the size of body parts.

Brand equity, “the marketing effects uniquely attributable to the brand” (Keller, 1993, p. 1), is at the heart of competition in the luxury goods market (Keller, 2009). While firms competing in this segment have come up with sophisticated ways to build brand equity, they are currently challenged by the increasing importance of the internet in consumers’ journeys (Kapferer & Bastien, 2012; Okonkwo, 2009). With online sales of luxury goods showing a twelvefold increase over the past 11 years (D’Arpizio et al., 2014), it is evident that luxury brands have to be present somehow in the digital environment today (Heine & Berghaus, 2014). The strategic purposes, business potentials, and consequences for brand equity of this presence, however, are still largely unexplored and remain a paradoxical topic. As a luxury brand’s website is the brand’s most valuable digital asset (Heine & Berghaus, 2014) and as there appears to be a consensus that luxury brands can use their websites to present their products in the digital environment, at least for purposes of communication, the question arises which products are most suitable for reinforcing the brand’s image. The roles a luxury brand’s products can play in relation to brand management can be classified between four poles spanning two dimensions, which this research terms ‘accessibility’ and ‘contemporariness’, in relation to Kapferer and Bastien’s (2012) luxury brand architecture map. Empirical evidence of these dimensions is, nevertheless, scarce, and yet no prior research has investigated these product roles in an e-commerce setting. The current study develops a model to test how an online purchase option and the contemporariness as well as the accessibility of the product assortment offered on the websites of luxury brands affect specific brand equity dimensions of luxury brands. Data of a 2x2x2-online scenario experiment were analyzed, showing that prestige and uniqueness value are non-significantly affected by offering an online purchase option, while functional value increases significantly. Regarding the displayed product assortment, the brand equity dimensions of functionality, prestige, and uniqueness are found to be significantly affected by the inaccessibility of the products, while their contemporariness elicits significant changes in uniqueness value. The study also assesses the mediating role of the brand attributes of availability, price premium, aesthetics, and innovativeness, as well as the moderating role of consumers’ prior brand ownership, for these effects.

With the increasing popularity of nonprofit thrift shopping, new marketing strategies are needed to respond to accelerated competition in the secondhand market. To help guide the development of marketing strategies for nonprofit thrift stores, this study aims to identify factors impacting consumers’ buying behavior for secondhand fashion items sold in nonprofit thrift stores. Specifically, this study investigated 1) the effects of secondhand fashion selection criteria (i.e., design, brand name, lower price) and personal factors (i.e., gender, household income, beliefs about environment) on the secondhand fashion consumption experience in nonprofit thrift stores and 2) the moderating effects of point of purchase (POP) messages (i.e., “50% Off Sale,” “New Arrivals,” “Helping Others”) on the relationships between purchase intention and impulsive buying in nonprofit thrift stores. An online survey was used to collect the data, and a total of 197 usable responses were received. The results showed that 1) gender, household income, beliefs about environment, and brand name affected the secondhand fashion consumption experience and 2) the POP message “Helping Others” negatively moderated the relationship between purchase intention and impulsive buying in nonprofit thrift stores. These results can help nonprofit thrift stores’ managers to develop effective marketing strategies to increase their profits, which can be used to accomplish their mission of addressing social issues.

As a basic element for sustainable development, the residential housing industry is vital and fundamental for every country in the world. Therefore, this study examines the impacts of financial considerations on house purchase decisions by housing investors in Auckland, New Zealand. 110 completed questionnaires were statistically analyzed. For testing the proposed hypotheses, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used. The results show that house prices, income, and credit accessibility significantly influence housing investors’ purchase decisions in a positive direction. It appears that more expensive houses offer more promising returns such that housing investors having higher levels of income and access to loans are brave enough to invest in such houses. This study aims to present the key factors influencing house purchase decisions from the viewpoint of housing investors as fundamental groups of stakeholders in the property market, which is rarely examined in previous studies. The implication of this study is to provide guidelines for housing regulators in New Zealand to develop affordable housing prices through the availability of land banks. This study also offers practical contributions to housing investors, particularly by providing key guidelines to make effective investment decisions.