Current Issue Summary
September 2024 (Vol. 64, Issue 3)

How the Presence of Employee Avatars Affects Metaverse Shopping Behavior: “Can I Help You Buy Condoms?” Virtual Sales Promotions in Embarrassing Shopping Settings
Investigate the impact of employee avatars, both human and robotic, on consumer behavior in virtual shopping environments in this new study in the September JAR. The findings reveal that in embarrassing contexts, the presence of avatars decreases consumers’ purchase behavior, including the time and money spent on purchases, in embarrassing contexts. Consumers are also less likely to recall the brand of an embarrassing product but more likely to remember that the product was on sale. The negative impact of avatar presence is specific to embarrassing shopping settings and does not affect mundane purchases. The study suggests that marketers should avoid using avatars to promote embarrassing products in the metaverse.

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