The Impact of Virtual Fitting Service Characteristics and Telepresence on Consumers’ Continuous Use and Offline Visit Intentions
Shaoqian Yang, Jin Hwa Lee · The Korean Society of Costume · 2025
With the rapid advancement of digital transformation and immersive technologies, virtual fitting services have become a key innovation in online fashion retail. These services address a major drawback of online shopping—the inability to try on garments—by offering realistic and interactive try-on experiences. This study examines the effects of three core technological features of virtual fitting services—immediacy, interactivity, and avatar realism—on consumer behavior, focusing on the mediating role of telepresence. Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework, the research explores how these technological stimuli influence users’ psychological sense of presence, shaping two behavioral outcomes: continuous use intention and offline store visit intention. Data were collected from 207 users with prior experience using virtual fitting technologies and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings show that in- teractivity and avatar realism significantly enhance telepresence, which positively affects users’ intentions to con- tinue using the service. However, telepresence does not significantly impact the intention to visit physical stores, suggesting a boundary between immersive digital experiences and offline shopping behavior. This study makes a valuable contribution to the existing literature by offering a deeper perspective on immersive experi- ence design that goes beyond traditional acceptance models. Practically, it highlights the importance of enhanc- ing interactivity and avatar realism to boost user engagement and foster long-term digital loyalty.