Wearing the future: a study on metaverse applications in apparel design and retail

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of metaverse applications on apparel design and retail, focusing on Generation Z consumers’ purchase intentions. It examined how immersive experience quality, social interaction and digital fashion trend awareness influenced consumer behavior in metaverse-based apparel retail environments. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research design was used, with primary data collected from 323 Gen Z respondents using a structured survey and purposive sampling. Key constructs were measured using validated five-item Likert scales. Data analysis was conducted through Structural Equation Modeling in AMOS, ensuring model fit, reliability and validity. Construct scales were adapted from established sources with rigorous pretesting for metaverse-specific contexts, and robustness checks (e.g. bootstrapping) confirmed result stability. Findings The results indicated that immersive experience quality was the strongest predictor of purchase intention, followed by social interaction and digital fashion trend awareness. Demographic factors, such as gender and age, also significantly moderated purchase behavior. The findings underscored the importance of creating engaging, interactive and trend-aware virtual environments to stimulate Gen Z’s digital fashion consumption. Path analyses revealed mediation effects via organism states (e.g. emotional engagement), extending beyond prior descriptive models. Originality/value This study offers the originality by empirically testing an integrated model that extends the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework with Uses and Gratifications Theory and Social Identity Theory. Unlike prior work, which often examines these elements in isolation (immersion alone in Kim, 2025), this research holistically assesses their combined effects on Gen Z’s purchase intentions in metaverse apparel retail a gap in the digital fashion literature.