Investigating the impact of AR apps driving consumer engagement in digital shopping

Diverse applications connected to augmented reality (AR) have become more prevalent as a result of the technology's innovation and growing popularity in recent years. By increasing brand visibility and appeal—which in turn affects customer interaction with brands—the incorporation of augmented reality (AR) into commerce presents a tremendous opportunity to improve marketing initiatives. Consequently, more funds are being allocated by retailers and brand owners to the AR commercial services industry. Using innovation diffusion theory and flow theory, this study intends to investigate the elements that influence consumer engagement with AR commercial systems, taking user happiness into consideration. To investigate the characteristics of AR technology that lead to user happiness and a flow experience, an integrated research model is put forward. Structural equation modeling was used to examine data from 250 legitimate online questionnaires. The results demonstrate that user happiness and flow experience are important drivers of consumer engagement with AR commercial services. Users' flow experiences and pleasure are found to be primarily influenced by three factors: interactivity, vividness, and novelty. There is also discussion on the implications of these discoveries.