Virtual Reality Co-Browsing: Transforming the Home-Buying Journey through Enhanced Information Search (under review)

This study examines how virtual reality (VR) co-browsing, a novel interaction format enabling real-time communication between consumers and real estate agents in a shared virtual property space, impacts consumers’ property search process. Drawing upon the consideration set theory and consumer information search process, this paper investigates how VR co-browsing influences the quantity and uniqueness of the properties visited offline. Using data from a leading online real estate platform in China, our empirical analysis reveals that VR co-browsing reshapes consumers’ offline search patterns: while it reduces the total number of offline visits, it leads consumers to inspect properties that are more divergent from their initial online considerations. This, in turn, leads to significant cost savings for the platform and improved search efficiency for consumers. These effects of VR co-browsing are further reinforced by the work experience of participating real estate agents. Extended analyses reveal that these effects of VR co-browsing differ from those of traditional communication (i.e., phone calls), and stem from its ability to facilitate space-related discussion. This study contributes to the literature by integrating virtual product exhibition and human communication, offering new insights into how this integration enables agents’ articulation of their knowledge and thus shapes consumer behaviors during property search. The findings provide actionable implications for consumers, real estate agents, and platform providers aiming to optimize the property search experience.