An exploration of the impact of virtual reality interfaces on online shopping

Virtual reality presents exciting new opportunities for e-commerce with regard to the development of innovative shopping services. This article reports on an experimental investigation into the coordinated use of two human-computer interfaces (HCIs) for online shopping: virtual reality (VR) and webpages. We adopted the uses and gratification theory and technology acceptance model to determine how these HCIs affect online shopping intentions. Data from 98 participants revealed that entertainment value, informativeness, perceived ease-of-use, and perceived usefulness are the primary factors influencing the intention to use the VR HCI for online shopping (p < 0.05). Informativeness, perceived ease-of-use, and perceived usefulness are the main factors influencing the intention to use the webpage HCI for online shopping (p < 0.05). This study provides insights for businesses how to develop innovative shopping services using VR.