Topology of Augmented Commerce: The State and Directions for Future Research
Heller, Jonas, Chylinski, M., Gavin Northey, Ko de Ruyter, A. N. SINHA, van Esch, P., Hilken, Tim, Dominik Mahr · Research Publications (Maastricht University) · 2016
Augmented commerce, or the exchange and consumption of products and services in augmented reality - a real-time and interactive overlay of virtual information over the physical world - ushers in a new marketing environment. Unlike the existing conceptualizations of ‘e’ or ‘m’ commerce that rely on particular technologies (computer networks, mobile devices), a-commerce represents a break-through technology where the focus becomes augmented experience rather than the technology per-se. We argue this happens because a-commerce creates a more natural (embedded) and intuitive (embodied) interface that promotes situated cognition through tight coupling of virtual and physical stimuli at the point-of-sale. After describing a-commerce and its strategic implications for marketing practice we provide a synthesis of the literature for a typology of augmented experience, and a conceptual framework that links value creation through a-commerce. We identify knowledge gaps that suggest opportunities for additional research.