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The Emotional and Empathic Dimension of Augmented Reality in E-Commerce: A Theoretical Framework for Purchase Intention
Augmented Reality (AR) is transforming e-commerce, offering immersive experiences that transcend the simple visualisation of products. However, understanding the impact of the emotional and empathetic dimensions created by such experiences on consumer purchase intent remains limited. This article proposes an innovative theoretical framework that integrates emotional constructs (valence and activation), perceived empathy (influenced by mirror mechanisms simulated in AR), user experience factors (interaction time, sensory salience, cognitive load) and perceived usefulness to model user engagement (UE) and, subsequently, purchase intention (PI) in AR-enriched e-commerce environments. The model is based on a review of recent literature (with the majority of articles between 2020-2025) on AR in e-commerce, the psychology of emotions, neurodesign and consumer behaviour, using open-access articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. We present specific mathematical functions to quantify EU and PI, the latter modelled using a logistic function. The proposed framework aims to offer a deeper understanding of how AR can be designed to evoke positive emotional and empathic responses, optimising engagement and enhancing the purchasing decision. The theoretical and practical implications for researchers and marketers are discussed, as well as directions for future empirical research to validate and refine the proposed model, contributing to the advancement of knowledge at the intersection of technology, psychology and marketing in the context of e-commerce.
An Introduction of Omnichannel Interaction in Healthcare Services
Background: Omnichannel interaction services have the potential to bring new leverage to healthcare organizations and the care services they provide through multiple channels of interaction. This article aims to provide a brief introduction to what is expected in terms of omnichannel interaction in healthcare. The pandemic came to reinforce the need for an omnichannel strategy in healthcare services due to the benefits that it can bring both to patients and the organization. Objectives: This paper seeks to present a study that pretends to address if healthcare institutions are well prepared to adopt the omnichannel interaction strategies that marketing and e-commerce organizations have been implementing in the services that they provide to their customers. Methods: A deep study and analysis of the current state of omnichannel services that marketing and e-commerce organizations have been implementing are performed. Then from these studies and analyses, it was conducted a brief analysis of the omnichannel services in healthcare. To this, the articles were searched on online repositories well know such as SCOPUS. Besides other online repositories were used to search the articles and some white papers were also searched. Books, magazines, and opinion articles are other examples of secondary sources. Some internet searches were also done to help validate, explain and better understand various concepts for this type of study. Interpretation: With this paper, a set of key challenges and issues of omnichannel interaction were addressed, as well as the benefits of this type of interaction in general and in healthcare services. As a result, a SWOT analysis of omnichannel services in healthcare was presented, and based on that, both the healthcare organization and their patients have a lot to win with the adoption of the omnichannel strategy. Also, with this study was possible to identify the five main criteria to address when adopting omnichannel interaction in healthcare services. such as strategy, process, systems, data, and people.
