How Virtual Mirrors Influence Attitudes about Beauty Products

Summary

Augmented reality holds much promise for advertising. However, little research has investigated the impact of it or virtual mirrors in advertising. This study, recently published in the Journal of Advertising Research, focuses on how self-referencing, self-awareness, self-focused attention and self–brand relationships affect consumer attitudes and purchase intentions within this new virtual frontier. The research highlights the potential of augmented reality to enhance consumer engagement and satisfaction by allowing users to visualize products on themselves in real-time.

The authors conducted a laboratory experiment with university students to investigate the effects of viewing perspectives, types of endorsements and the use of beauty filters in virtual mirrors. The findings suggest that while virtual mirrors can enhance product attitudes, they do not significantly influence purchase intentions. The study provides valuable insights for marketers on tailoring augmented reality advertising strategies to different cultural contexts.

More analysis and the full study is available to ARF members.