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 share some initial results of my AR and VR research. First, I share some insights into the effect of consumers’ use of AR applications in online shopping on the reduction of product return rates. Further, I show some first evidence that VR experiences have the potential to substitute real-life experiences, such as a theatre visit.

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.