Human–computer interaction meets consumer psychology: How augmented reality shapes decision styles in online fashion purchases

This study explores how augmented reality influences the relationship between consumer decision-making styles and purchasing behavior in online fashion retail within an emerging market. Despite the widespread use of CDMS in consumer research, little is known about how immersive technologies condition these effects in digital commerce. Using survey data from 526 AR-aware consumers in Palestine and analyzing the model with PLS-SEM (SmartPLS 4, 5,000 bootstrap resamples), we find that perfectionistic/high-quality consciousness and brand consciousness positively predict purchasing behavior, while price consciousness and recreational/hedonistic style do not show significant direct effects. Augmented reality has a strong direct impact on purchasing behavior and significantly moderates two relationships: it amplifies the effect of price consciousness while reducing the influence of brand consciousness. The model demonstrates adequate explanatory (R 2 = 0.415) and predictive (Q 2 = 0.386) power. These findings suggest that immersive visualization and diagnostic cues shift decision-making from brand-based heuristics toward value-oriented assessments by increasing perceived realism and decision confidence. Theoretically, the study bridges human–computer interaction perspectives with decision psychology in online fashion commerce. Practically, it provides guidance for segmenting AR journeys—focusing on diagnostic value cues for price-conscious consumers and product-focused visualization for brand-oriented shoppers. The results are particularly relevant for fashion e-commerce in emerging markets and encourage future cross-market and longitudinal research.