Virtual Reality Research in Marketing Focusing on Consumers

Virtual reality (VR) is gaining attention as a technology that offers new experiences to consumers. The purpose of this study was to identify current trends in marketing research on VR targeting consumers. Forty-nine empirical papers published since 2019 were extracted and categorized into themes of “communication,” “spatial setting,” “experience,” and “device acceptance.” For the studies on “communication,” “spatial setting,” and “experience,” we clarified the effects of VR and VR devices. For “device acceptance,” we clarified the factors that led to the acceptance of VR devices by consumers. Finally, as a critical issue common to each theme, it was pointed out that the characteristics of the VR devices and contents targeted by each study were unclear. As a specific solution, it was pointed out that each study needed to measure and report the components of VR. Other issues noted included organizing theories that explain the effects of VR and pre-designing sample sizes.