How the Metaverse is Reshaping Multichannel Retail Through Balancing Complementarity and Substitution

Abstract

Although the metaverse can offer a fusion of physical and virtual shopping experiences, there is no consensus on how multichannel retailers can capitalize on this trend by adopting extended reality (XR) online portals. Therefore, we seek to investigate the dynamic influence of XR adoption on offline store performance from the perspective of multichannel retailers. The current study also considers the boundary conditions of the XR type and offline store density. We examined 667 multichannel retailers, with data sources combining online and offline information from 2019 to 2022, resulting in 11,643 monthly retailer-level observations. Applying staggered difference-in-differences models reveals that XR adoption dynamically affects offline store transactions. Furthermore, the effects of XR vary across XR type and offline store density. We aim to provide management implications for multichannel retailers wishing to optimize their channel structures by adopting XR while jumping into the metaverse.

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