The role of immersive spaces on the customer experience: An exploration of fashion metaverses

This study explores the impact of immersive spaces, such as the metaverse, on the customer experience. The research examines consumers' motivations to use metaverse spaces and analyses how various dimensions of virtual environments and the associated pain points affect the overall customer experience, including cognitive, affective, behavioral, and social outcomes. It also investigates whether consumers perceive differences between brands' metaverse and physical spaces. The fashion industry, as an early adopter of the metaverse, serves as the context. A qualitative research design, including consumer diaries and focus groups, is conducted. Findings reveal five motivations for using metaverse environments: freedom of expression, creativity, exploration, entertainment, and productivity. We identify several pain points that impact the overall customer experience that should be overcome to realize the metaverse's potential. This study highlights implications for theory and practice related to immersive spaces and the customer experience, benefiting metaverse designers and customers alike, and influencing brands' marketing strategies that increasingly focus on incorporating immersive spaces. As the field of omniverse marketing remains underdeveloped, our research advances knowledge by extending the customer experience framework into the context of immersive spaces and contributes to the body of knowledge of consumer psychology and marketing.