Exploring Antecedents to Adopt Mobile Augmented Reality Applications: A Uses and Gratifications Approach

Introduction

The concept of Augmented reality (AR), which is the visual alignment of virtual content with real-world context (Scholz & Smith, 2016), in real-time interaction (Azuma, 1997), is a topic of increasing importance in marketing (Reese et al., 2016). The upsurge in the AR industry can be tied to the breakout success of Pokemon Go in 2016, and the introduction of Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore software development kits (SDKs) in 2017. These factors have accelerated the growth of AR, proved the confidence of the technology industry in AR experiences, and led to the creation of AR mobile applications (Petrock, 2019). Javornik (2016) described AR as the new groundbreaking technology of the Century and the Goldman Sachs (2016) reported that AR has the potential to become the next big platform as was the PC and smartphone and that it is expected that new markets were to be created and existing markets were to be disrupted with the AR technologies (www.goldmansachs.com, 2016). By 2020, it is expected that there will be one billion augmented reality users worldwide. Research shows that 70% of the consumers believe that AR technologies can provide them benefits, while 67% of the media planners and buyers want to integrate AR in their future promotion strategies (Moss, 2019). Already, many brands such as IKEA, Sephora, Lego implement AR applications as part of their marketing mix (Scholz & Smith, 2016). Several uses of the AR technology in marketing can be listed as aiding customers in product trial and education, entertaining them with digital gamification features (Rese et al., 2017), increasing brand awareness and influencing the purchase decisions (Pantano & Naccarato, 2010).

The research on AR so far focused on consumer motivations to use it, consumer reactions to, consumers’ acceptance of this technology, and creation of consumer-oriented designs (e.g.; Rese et al., 2017; Kim & Forsythe, 2008; Domina et al., 2012; Javornik et al., 2016; Olson et al., 2013). Even though there is an increasing amount of research on the topic in the last decade, research especially on AR in mobile devices is still in its infancy (Rese et al., 2017); therefore an exploratory approach to provide a thorough understanding of the concept is timely and important. The aim of this research is to explore (1) the user motivations to employ mobile augmented reality applications against (2) the hindrance of perceived risks; (3) understand user acceptance and willingness to use this technology based on perceived usefulness and ease of use; and (4) possible marketing-related outcomes. The underlying theories utilized are the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which is commonly used in marketing to research consumer acceptance of technological developments and the Uses and Gratifications Theory (U&G), which is another commonly applied theory to explore consumer motivations in using new media technologies.

Providing answers to the questions above contributes to the literature in several ways. First, by understanding the uses and gratifications associated with AR applications, the research attempts to shed light on the theoretical mechanisms related to the intended use of AR. Currently, studies, especially by Rauschnabel et al. (2015, 2017, 2018), have identified the uses and gratifications associated with smart AR glasses. However, our study focuses on a variety of AR applications and tries to form a general framework of motivations to adopt AR applications with the addition of risks associated with AR that impede the adoption process. Second, the framework tests the applicability of the TAM model in AR application adoption from a qualitative point of view. Third, the study will add to the literature on the impact of AR on consumer behavior, which is said to be scant in its current position (Javornik, 2016). Considering that AR applications will be one of the infusing technologies in the future, this study is relevant for future research directions and practice. The insights will also help practitioners in designing their applications, by taking into consideration the dominant consumer motivations while resolving the associated risks.