From immersion to impulse: The role of augmented reality in shaping consumer engagement and purchase decisions for luxury brands

Augmented reality–based branded applications enable consumers to interact with brands in innovative, immersive ways. Drawing on spatial presence theory, social presence theory, and the means-end theory of lifestyle, this research uncovers the underlying mechanism by which augmented reality–based branded applications influence consumers’ impulsive consumption of luxury brands. Data was collected from millennials who frequently used augmented reality–based branded apps for luxury purchases and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that augmented reality–based branded app usage significantly and positively impacts the motivational factors underlying luxury consumption (i.e. social comparison, hedonic shopping motivation, and materialism) and ultimately influences the impulsive buying of luxury brands. Furthermore, materialistic dispositions were found to mediate the relationship between augmented reality–based branded app usage and impulsive buying of luxury brands. JEL Code: L1, D4, M310, M370