Getting hands on(line)? A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of extended realities in online retailing

To enhance the online shopping experience, companies are increasingly adopting extended realities (XRs) in the form of 360-degree rotation (3D), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) for product presentations. However, research has produced inconsistent results regarding the impact of XRs on consumer responses, leaving practitioners uncertain about the effectiveness of these technologies while facing substantial investment costs. Addressing this issue, the authors meta -analyze 298 effect sizes from 111 experimental studies comparing XRs with traditional product presentations (i.e., images, videos). The findings show that XRs moderately improve consumer responses (i.e., attitudinal and behavioral; d = 0.410) with high underlying heterogeneity. The effect is amplified when XRs include overlay elements (e.g., text that overlays virtual content) and for experiential shoppers, while it is weaker for VR on PCs (vs. AR, 3D, and VR on head-mounted displays) and for familiar brands. The effects are robust across different comparison conditions (i.e., images vs. videos), and outcomes (i.e., attitudinal vs. behavioral). The authors also test the relative importance of the two main theoretical accounts used in prior research to explain the effect of XRs—namely, mental simulation and information assessment. The results highlight that companies benefit from a careful use of XRs, for example, by incorporating overlay elements in XR designs or by using XRs for new brands. The article also provides a comprehensive overview of future research areas in the field of XRs