Augmented reality (AR) technology has generated enormous industry investment and buzz, with the food and beverage sector quickly embracing this technology in an effort to enhance the customer experience. However, academic research has only just begun to empirically explore how and why this technology might influence consumer judgements and behaviors in such contexts. Across two field studies involving consequential behavior and two controlled laboratory studies, we find that AR’s unique ability to visually superimpose objects onto a real-time environment increases consumers’ ability to mentally simulate consuming a pictured food, which in turn increases their desire and purchase likelihood of the food item. Further, we find the increased mental simulation produced by AR is itself preceded and driven by an increased sense of personal relevance of the food items.

增强现实 (AR) 技术已经产生了巨大的行业投资和热议，食品和饮料行业迅速采用该技术来提升客户体验。然而，学术研究才刚刚开始实证探索这项技术如何以及为什么会影响消费者在这种情况下的判断和行为。通过两项涉及相应行为的实地研究和两项受控实验室研究，我们发现 AR 将对象视觉叠加到实时环境中的独特能力提高了消费者在心理上模拟食用图片食物的能力，这反过来又增加了他们的欲望和购买可能性的食品。更远，