Augmented Reality Features, Customer Experience, and Engagement in Retail: An Experience Economy Perspective

Augmented Reality (AR) is increasingly embedded within digital retail environments, yet its role extends beyond a marketing tool toward a technology-mediated service interface that reshapes customer interaction and engagement.Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model and Experience Economy Theory, this study examines how AR features influence customer engagement through experiential mechanisms.The findings reveal that AR features significantly enhance customer experience dimensions, including escapism and aesthetic experience.Among these, escapism emerges as the strongest predictor of customer engagement, highlighting the importance of immersive experiences in AR-enabled retail contexts.Furthermore, customer experience is confirmed as a key mediating mechanism linking AR technological stimuli to engagement outcomes.The results offer both theoretical advancements and practical insights for designing AR-enabled customer experiences that foster sustained engagement.