Comparing the Impact of Virtual Reality and Two-Dimensional Advertising on Flow Experience and Purchase Intention Among Sports Product Customers

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of Sport Management, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

2 Ph.D. in Sport Management, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran

Abstract

The recent development of technology has changed the way that people experience physical and virtual environments, virtual reality plays a key role in this way. The purpose of this study was to identify the impact of virtual reality advertising on the flow experience and purchase intention of sports consumers and compare to Two-Dimensional Advertising. The present study is an applied and semi experimental research based on structural equation modeling. Statistical population included customers of Mammut sports products. Measurement tools included Kim and Ko (2019) flow Experience questionnaire and Kang et al (2018) purchase intention questionnaire. The virtual reality headset was also used to create the virtual reality experience. Finally, structural equations in PLS software were used to analyze the research data. The findings showed that the promotion of virtual reality through cognitive absorption, enjoyment and time distortion leads to the flow experience, ultimately indulging in the intention to purchase consumers' sports products. Given the effectiveness of this technology rather than two-dimensional advertising, it is suggested that domestic brands also produce virtual reality content so that they can provide customers with a flow experience and enhance their customer purchase intention.

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