Introducing Shopper Avatars in a Virtual Reality Store

Immersive Virtual Reality (iVR) is rapidly altering the world we live in. Studies have shown that people exhibit similar behaviours and reactions in virtual retail scenarios, thus making iVR a promising tool for researchers to study in-store shopper behaviour. This paper investigates whether virtual avatars can affect users' perceived telepresence and shopping behavior. We recruited 54 participants to experience the virtual store and our findings showed the mere presence of virtual avatars in the store had no significant effect on participants' sense of telepresence and shopping behaviour. We believe this research highlighted the need for further study and contributed to the development of fully-fledged virtual simulated shopping experiences.