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Hedonic Beats Utilitarian: Differential Effects of AI Chatbots and AR/VR on Consumer Engagement in E-Commerce

Qin Zhang & Firdaus Abdullah

Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research2026https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer21020060article
AJG 1
Weight
0.37

What the paper says

This research investigates the impact of augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) and AI-enabled chatbots, both individually and collectively, on consumer engagement of e-commerce platforms. Moreover, this research examines the mediating effects of perceived utility, ease of use, and enjoyment and the moderating effects of product type and technology readiness, respectively. By applying the theories of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R), this research proposed this theoretical framework and adopted a mixed-method research method. This research collected its empirical findings from 486 respondents who had utilized chatbots and AR/VR technology on three of China’s most popular e-commerce platforms, including Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo. Structural equation modeling was utilized for hypothesis testing, and semi-structured interviews on 30 participants were used for validation of empirical findings. Results reveal that both AI chatbot features (β = 0.35, p < 0.001) and AR/VR technologies (β = 0.42, p < 0.001) significantly enhance consumer engagement, with AR/VR demonstrating stronger effects. Perceived enjoyment emerged as the strongest mediator (AI: β = 0.14; AR/VR: β = 0.18), surpassing traditional utilitarian factors. Technology readiness significantly moderated these relationships, with high-readiness consumers showing substantially stronger responses (AI: β = 0.45; AR/VR: β = 0.52). Experience goods amplified technology effects compared to search goods. Multi-group analysis revealed platform-specific variations, while robustness checks identified diminishing returns for AI chatbots but not AR/VR technologies. This research contributes to digital marketing and information systems literature by providing empirical evidence of differential technology impacts on engagement, highlighting the dominance of hedonic over utilitarian pathways in consumer technology adoption. The findings offer practical guidance for e-commerce platforms in optimizing technology investments and designing engagement strategies.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer21020060

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@article{qin2026,
  title        = {{Hedonic Beats Utilitarian: Differential Effects of AI Chatbots and AR/VR on Consumer Engagement in E-Commerce}},
  author       = {Qin Zhang & Firdaus Abdullah},
  journal      = {Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer21020060},
}

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Evidence weight

0.37

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.16 × 0.4 = 0.06
M · momentum0.53 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.