Virtual Fitting Room Effect: Moderating Role of Body Mass Index

Author(s) Information:
Shuai Yang , Donghua University, Guiyang Xiong, Syracuse University and  Huifang Mao, Iowa State University

Article Title:
Virtual Fitting Room Effect: Moderating Role of Body Mass Index

Journal (Year):
Journal of Marketing Research

One sentence summarizing the essence of your paper:
Virtual fitting room negatively affects overweight users' product responses, but online retailers can adopt certain strategies to mitigate such negative effect.

Research Questions:
How does the effect of virtual fitting room (VFR) on product evaluations and purchases vary across consumer segments? How to mitigate the negative effect of VFR among high-BMI consumers?

What we know:
Prior research has largely found that VFR enhances apparel sales; however, whether this positive effect is universal across consumer groups is unknown. Neglecting such nuances may significantly undermine VFR effectiveness, especially considering that overweight consumers constitute the majority (over 70%) of the U.S. adult population.

Originality/Value - Novel Findings:
We find asymmetric effects of VFR conditional on consumer body types, and identify managerially actionable moderators that can mitigate adverse effects. Specifically, while VFR enhances product evaluations and purchases among consumers with relatively low body-mass-index (BMI) levels, it negatively influences responses from high-BMI consumers due to self-image threat induced by avatars that resemble consumers’ own bodies. We identify four feasible solutions to alleviate the negative responses among high-BMI users of VFR, namely, promoting diversified beauty standards, featuring mannequin face for VFR avatars, providing consumers opportunities to engage in prosocial behavior, and presenting high-status products.


Full Citation:
“Virtual Fitting Room Effect: Moderating Role of Body Mass Index,” with Shuai Yang, Huifang Mao & Minghui Ma, forthcoming at Journal of Marketing Research

Abstract:
An emerging virtual-reality technology, virtual fitting room (VFR) allows online shoppers to virtually try on clothes. Despite its increasing popularity, how VFR influences different consumer groups is hitherto unknown. Neglecting such nuances may significantly undermine VFR effectiveness. Based on a large-scale field experiment with real-world transactional data and five laboratory experiments, the authors document the asymmetric effects of VFR conditional on consumer body types, characterize the theoretical underpinnings, and identify a systematic set of managerially actionable moderators that can mitigate adverse effects. Specifically, while VFR enhances product evaluations and purchases among consumers with relatively low body-mass-index (BMI) levels, it negatively influences responses from high-BMI consumers due to self-image threat induced by avatars that resemble consumers’ own bodies. To cope with self-image threat, high-BMI consumers tend to shift the blame to the apparel item, resulting in negative product responses. The authors identify four feasible solutions to alleviate the negative responses among high-BMI users of VFR, namely, promoting diversified beauty standards, featuring mannequin face for VFR avatars, providing consumers opportunities to engage in prosocial behavior, and presenting high-status products. These findings offer guidance for retailers to smartly leverage this new technology to enhance both business performance and consumer wellbeing.

Web URL for the Article:

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