The effective use of avatars in 3D virtual stores is a critical component of the success of virtual retail. However, there is a lack of established guidelines on avatar design, an overview of its impact, and its limitations. This work aims to fill these gaps with a scoping review of avatar usage in immersive virtual retail in the last 8 years. Starting with an initial 243 publications, we selected and analysed nine studies to propose the original Virtual Retail Avatar Design (VRAD) framework, as well as investigate the impact avatars have on user’s perceptions, experiences, and behaviors in immersive virtual retail environment. The VRAD framework revealed the key elements of the avatar design to achieve more engaging and effective virtual shopping experiences. We also summarized the avatar’s impact on shopper behaviour, perception, and experience in the iVR retail environment and the future research agenda of avatars in iVR retail. We believe our work can be extended from retail to related areas where avatars play a key role in their further evolution.
Avatar Design in Virtual Retail Environments: A Scoping Review and Proposed Framework / Zhao, Yinshu; Ricci, Marina; Fiorentino, Michele; Baghaei, Nilufar. - (2025), pp. 46-58. ( 36th Australasian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (OzCHI ’24) Brisbane, QLD, Australia November 30–December 04, 2024) [10.1145/3726986.3726991].
Avatar Design in Virtual Retail Environments: A Scoping Review and Proposed Framework
Marina Ricci
;Michele Fiorentino;
2025
Abstract
The effective use of avatars in 3D virtual stores is a critical component of the success of virtual retail. However, there is a lack of established guidelines on avatar design, an overview of its impact, and its limitations. This work aims to fill these gaps with a scoping review of avatar usage in immersive virtual retail in the last 8 years. Starting with an initial 243 publications, we selected and analysed nine studies to propose the original Virtual Retail Avatar Design (VRAD) framework, as well as investigate the impact avatars have on user’s perceptions, experiences, and behaviors in immersive virtual retail environment. The VRAD framework revealed the key elements of the avatar design to achieve more engaging and effective virtual shopping experiences. We also summarized the avatar’s impact on shopper behaviour, perception, and experience in the iVR retail environment and the future research agenda of avatars in iVR retail. We believe our work can be extended from retail to related areas where avatars play a key role in their further evolution.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
