Lights and Shadows of Consumer Experience in the VR-Based Metaverse: An Exploratory Study

The immersive features of virtual reality (VR)-based metaverses involve consumers in vivid experiences that can intensify their perceptions as they attend to the innovative environment. In this regard, previous research on VR has revealed the role of technology in emphasizing both positive (e.g., well-being) and negative (e.g., discomfort) consumer responses. However, the emerging marketing literature on the VR-based metaverse presents a fragmented and mostly conceptual overview of the “lights” and “shadows” perceived during the consumer experience in the new virtual context. This study aims to address this gap by identifying the key perceptual factors of well-being and discomfort among consumers during VR-based metaverse experiences. Additionally, the study segments Gen-Z users based on positive and negative responses and investigates differences in perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude toward VR, and intention to use. In this study, 311 questionnaires were collected and validated using a quantitative exploratory approach. The findings of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and k-means cluster analysis revealed three factors and identified three clusters of Gen-Z users. This research contributes to the emerging marketing stream on VR-based metaverses and the field of human-computer interaction by providing a deeper understanding of well-being and discomfort in immersive consumer contexts. Managers can leverage this information to raise awareness of the lights and shadows of consumer experiences in VR-based metaverses.