A research on the identifying factors effecting consumer purchase intentions in the metaverse universe

In the era of rapid digitalization and virtual reality technology, the concept of the Metaverse is emerging as a potential new platform for daily life and commercial activities. The Metaverse is considered an important innovative platform because it integrates physical and digital environments, offering individuals, institutions, and businesses new opportunities for interaction, commerce, education, and socialization. Positioned as the future of the internet, these virtual environments have the potential to fundamentally transform user experiences while also creating a profound impact on consumer behavior and purchase intentions. In this context, this study aims to identify the factors that influence consumer purchase intentions in the Metaverse environment. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was expanded by adding hedonic value, object interactivity, perceived informativeness, 3D authenticity, and control as external variables, and the effects of external variables on consumers' perceptions and ultimately their behavioral usage intentions were studied. The research was conducted in Rize province with 220 participants. First, the virtual reality store, designed using the 'Spatial' platform, was experienced by participants using Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headsets. After experiencing the virtual reality store, participants completed a prepared questionnaire. The data obtained was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and partial least squares method (PLS-SEM). The findings show that hedonic utility has a significant effect on perceived ease of use, 3D authenticity has a significant effect on both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, and the control variable also has a significant effect on perceived ease of use. Furthermore, perceived ease of use was found to have a significant effect on perceived usefulness, while perceived usefulness was found to have a significant effect on attitude toward use and behavioral intention to use. Finally, attitude toward use was found to have a significant effect on behavioral intention to use. Other external variables, such as object interactivity and perceived informativeness, were not found to have a significant effect on the perceptual factors of the technology acceptance model. Another finding is that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness have a significant effect on consumer perceptions and purchase intentions. These results offer important implications for Metaverse platform developers and marketers. In particular, the research highlights that entertainment value (hedonic utility), immersive 3D experiences, and user control are critical factors for the adoption and commercial success of the Metaverse. On the other hand, it is also possible to state that the interactivity levels of the virtual environments users engage with in the Metaverse and the sufficiency levels of the information they require about products and services in these environments are not yet at the level users would like. Considering the results of the research, it is seen that the external variables added to the TAM in the Metaverse universe have different effects. In line with these results, the research aims to determine which variables shape consumer behavior in the Metaverse universe, where different technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality are used together, thereby contributing to marketing strategies, user experience design, and the digital economy literature.