Augmented Reality and Online Ratings: The Usage and Effects of Alternative Information Sources

Online retailers increasingly integrate augmented reality (AR) into product pages to provide additional information on how the item fits consumers’ physical context. However, the click-through rates for AR suggest sometimes consumers bypass these tools, relying instead on other available information. Through modeling consumers’ information acquisition and purchase decisions, we derived propositions that are further supported by real-world observations. Our findings reveal the key relationships that a higher click rate to AR tools is associated with (i) lower volume of other information; (ii) higher valence of product ratings; and (iii) higher relative importance of contextual fit. With a quasi-experiment setting, we further find that online rating characteristics moderate the effect of AR on product sales, and the average rating score increases after the introduction of AR. In conclusion, this study highlights the boundary conditions of AR adoption effects, delivering both theoretical contributions and managerial implications to online business operators.