Immersive knowledge: how augmented reality shapes consumer understanding
Mots-clés :
Augmented reality, immersive knowledge, consumer understanding, experiential learning, embodied cognitionRésumé
Augmented Reality (AR) is increasingly recognized as a strategic interface between digital information and physical consumption environments, profoundly transforming how consumers access, process, and internalize marketplace knowledge. While prior research has extensively documented AR’s influence on engagement, attitude formation, and purchase intention (Javornik, 2016; Hilkent & al., 2017; Rauschnabel & al., 2022), its role in shaping consumer understanding remains theoretically underexplored. Addressing this gap, the present article introduces the concept of immersive knowledge, defined as the depth, coherence, and experiential integration of consumer understanding generated through AR-enabled interactions. Anchored in experiential marketing theory (Schmitt, 1999), embodied cognition (Barsalou, 2008), and immersive media research (Slater & Sanchez-Vives, 2016), this conceptual paper theorizes how AR reconfigures cognitive learning processes by blending perception, action, and contextualized information. We argue that AR’s core affordances interactivity, spatial presence, and augmentation quality (Hilken & al., 2018; Carrozzi & al., 2019) facilitate experiential learning, enhance mental simulation (Taylor & Thompson, 1982), and reduce epistemic uncertainty during consumption decision-making. Furthermore, drawing on construal level theory (Trope & Liberman, 2010), we explain how AR shifts consumers from abstract to concrete representations, fostering more accurate mental models of products and services. The article culminates in a conceptual framework that positions immersive knowledge as a central mediating construct between AR experiences and downstream cognitive and behavioral outcomes. By advancing immersive knowledge as a distinct theoretical lens, this study extends AR research beyond hedonic and behavioral metrics, offering a robust foundation for future empirical inquiry and strategic implications for immersive marketing design.
