Augmented Reality Signalling in Fashion Retail

Augmented reality (AR) has attracted considerable attention across the fashion industry. AR’s burgeoning prominence and implications for the consumers’ shopping journey, has contributed to a considerable body of research. Nevertheless, AR’s potential to strengthen fashion retail brands is insufficiently researched. Furthermore, AR’s distinct types of applications – magic mirrors within stores, and virtual fitting rooms across online channels – have only been studied separately. This study utilises a novel approach in inquiring the effect of various AR types on brand equity through the signalling perspective. Scholars discussed the interrelatedness of brand equity and signalling theory, however the avenue for further applying this link to AR, offers insights on how brand attachment can be attained, and user-brand interactions be elevated. The unifactorial experimental design adopted, allowed studying people perceptions of fashion brands, following their exposure to different levels of AR signals. This research also aims to shed light on the mediation role of customer-brand engagement on AR signalling and brand equity. Further, the moderating roles of shopping orientation and personal innovativeness are explored. Taken together this study addresses the following research question: How does the signalling of fashion retailers’ extensiveness of AR use, impact brand equity, and what are the roles of customer-brand engagement, personal innovativeness and shopping orientation? To answer this question, 218 valid responses were obtained through experimental survey, where four distinct scenarios were developed, detailing levels of AR adoption signals on the fashion retailer American Vintage’ website. It was demonstrated that the mere signal of retailers’ AR adoption may not contribute to either brand equity or customer-brand engagement. Regardless of the significant interaction between customer-brand engagement and brand equity attained, AR signals lacked association with these constructs. Secondary analysis revealed that non-location AR signalling approached significance with brand equity – a notion valuable exploring in future research. Additionally, shopping orientation exhibited no moderating role on the direct effect, which pertains to signals’ inability to transmit AR’s value. Finally, evidence for personal innovativeness as moderator on AR signalling and customer engagement was not attained, yet the findings pointed to a potential direct effect between personal innovativeness and brand engagement, which future research could examine. The paper concludes with managerial implications and limitations of the approach taken.