The Role of Augmented Reality in Retail Settings: A Systematic Literature Review and Research Agenda

Abstract

The research on augmented reality (AR) in retail settings generally appeared from a Human-Computer Interactions (HCI) perspective in academic studies from the late 1990s. This subject gained increased attention from both academics and practitioners and established marketing and management perspectives from a technical perspective from the 2010s. Despite increasing interest and discussions on AR in retail settings, we still have no systematic understanding of the knowledge gained in retail research of AR; the intersection of AR research with retail; the existing emphasis on AR research, the underlying avenues of research and significant limitations in AR literature in retail sector. This study therefore aims to analyse and synthesise the current AR literature in retail environments as well as to provide a conceptual framework. Ninety-six journal articles across 23 years were thematically collected and analysed in order to reveal AR research themes over time and underlying research foci in different disciplines. Three research themes are identified from literature: (1) AR consumer adoption factors using technology acceptance models; (2) AR and user experience design and AR features that impact consumer behaviour; (3) AR shopping experience and value theory. The most important research discrepancies are the complexity of the HCI factors in the retail sector that influence shopping behaviour. In addition, this study provided several future research directions based on three research topics, in order to better understand the potential of AR technology in retail. The contribution of this study is synthesising the current discussions of AR research in order to provide an up-to-date view of current state of AR research foci, current challenges and future research directions, which helps to make AR a viable reality in retail settings.

Date of Award	1 Aug 2020
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Helen Mccormick (Supervisor), Patsy Perry (Supervisor) & Rosy Boardman (Supervisor)