The Reality of a Virtual World: Creating Value for Companies, Consumers, and Society

In this inaugural address, I discuss how virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)
can create value for companies, consumers, and society, by providing several
examples from business practice.
In line with the increasing use of VR and AR in business, VR and AR are increasingly
popular research domains in the marketing field, both as focus of studies and as a new
research tool. Today I review existing literature on the use of AR and VR applications in
the purchase stage of the consumer decision process and share some initial results
from my AR and VR research in this area. In doing so, I discuss the effect of consumers’
use of AR applications in online shopping on the number of product returns.
Furthermore, I show some initial insights that consumers see VR experiences as a
possible substitute for real-life experiences in entertainment.
Next, I discuss how VR can improve current research methods, and show three ways
to conduct research with VR that are currently possible at the Erasmus Behavioral Lab.
These methods are illustrated with examples from my current research projects or
research that I highlight as interesting future research.
Finally, I shed some light on the challenges that need to be overcome before
mainstream consumer adoption of VR and AR will be reached