Purpose

An increasing number of retailers is trying to stimulate customers by embedding augmented reality (AR) features such as video try-on into the online shopping experience. As such AR-based online services require customers to actively participate in the service provision, this paper aims at investigating fairness perceptions and customer responses associated with AR-enabled customer participation.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual framework of this study is based on equity theory. To compare customer responses after an in-store service encounter as opposed to AR-enabled customer participation involving video try-on, this study contains a between-subject online experiment. The effective sample comprises N = 215 participants.

Findings

The data analysis demonstrates that AR-enabled customer participation leads to significantly lower levels of distributive, procedural and price fairness as well as lower engagement intentions than in-store service encounters. Simultaneously, participants in the video try-on scenario report higher negative word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions than in the in-store scenario.

Research limitations/implications

The extra mile customers go when using AR-based online services is reflected in less favorable fairness evaluations.

Practical implications

Service managers should design AR applications in a manner that requires minimum customer participation.

Originality/value

This study contributes to service research by linking AR-enabled customer participation to evaluations of distributive, procedural and price fairness and their outcomes. This is vital to fully exploit the potential of AR in services.

中文翻译：

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基于增强现实的在线服务中的客户公平感

目的

越来越多的零售商正试图通过将增强现实 (AR) 功能（例如视频试穿）嵌入在线购物体验中来刺激客户。由于此类基于 AR 的在线服务需要客户积极参与服务提供，本文旨在调查与启用 AR 的客户参与相关的公平感知和客户反应。

设计/方法/方法

本研究的概念框架基于公平理论。为了比较店内服务遭遇后客户的反应，与涉及视频试穿的 AR 客户参与相比，本研究包含一个受试者之间的在线实验。有效样本包括N  = 215 名参与者。

发现

数据分析表明，与店内服务接触相比，启用 AR 的客户参与导致分销、程序和价格公平性水平显着降低，参与意愿也更低。同时，与店内场景相比，视频试穿场景中的参与者报告了更高的负面口碑 (WOM) 意图。

研究限制/影响

客户在使用基于 AR 的在线服务时付出的额外努力反映在不太有利的公平评估上。

实际影响

服务经理应该以需要最少客户参与的方式设计 AR 应用程序。

原创性/价值

本研究通过将支持 AR 的客户参与与分配、程序和价格公平性及其结果的评估联系起来，为服务研究做出贡献。这对于充分利用 AR 在服务中的潜力至关重要。