MKTG1003- Major Issue Affecting Consumer Behavior assessment Answer

Introduction

Metaverse indicates the 3D virtual, augmented, or mixed reality wherein consumers can probe the digitalized environment and collaborate with others. Notably, the growth of metaverse impacts the consumer behavior in essential manners, from how clients make choices and build brand relations to how they feel a sense of welfare and self. The metaverse provides exclusive prospects and experiences for clients. Consumers can collaborate and communicate with businesses and other clients in the metaverse (Carter 2022). Also, the greatly interactive and captivating competencies of the metaverse might enable customers to experience purchasing as a huge adventure via an extremely customized experience in support of their personal space (Popescu et al. 2022). The chosen consumer behavior concept is the self-concept, consumer identity, or self-brand connection. This paper is going to discuss the topic "Will the metaverse increase consumer loyalty towards brands?". Further, it will discuss a concept of consumer behavior namely the self-identity concept. After, it will apply concepts and theories to analyze consumer behavior. 

Consumer Behaviour Concept

Metaverse specifies the network of three-dimensional virtual worlds, emphasizing alluring experiences, digitalized economies, and social associations. It is deemed a vision for the subsequent frontier of computing (Yemenici 2022). It is further foreseen as a continuous digitalized space that might facilitate novel experiences around numerous devices entailing virtual reality (VR) and wearable augmented reality (AR) devices. It can be said that businesses namely Microsoft; Epic Games; Facebook; and so on have identified the strength of VR and AR and have been capitalizing on developing their individual digitalized spaces which are termed as metaverse (Mohamed 2023). As per Hamadneh et al. (2021), there is no doubt that identity has been admitted as a vital force in impacting consumer behavior which influences societal connections, brand preferences, inclination to be involved in sociable acts, and advertising responsiveness. The concept of self-identity is vital to elucidate a constructive acceptance of humans toward metaverse technologies. The self-concept is commanded by the need to get self-stability and the aspiration to improve an individual's self-esteem.  Usually, clients purchase goods that obey their real self-image. However, when they are low in confidence they are more likely to purchase based on what they might like to be instead of what they are. 

With regards to the metaverse, the concept of self-identity can be understood by avatars which play a vital role concerning a sense of belonging and declining mismatching between who I would like to be and who actually, I am. It is noteworthy that in the metaverse, people might attempt to form the intended presentation of themselves or who they desire to be. This might enable people to express their desires and frustrations that they cannot usually do due to the anxiety of being judged by others. People, in the metaverse, can embrace avatar demonstrations uncontrolled by their physical forms, definitely contributing to deeper implications for observed behavior. A vital implication for the consumer self-identity in the metaverse is that the digitalized nature of the online world enables self-enhancement in manners that are not possible offline (Lee et al. 2023). 

Critical Analysis

With the metaverse being formed, digitalized identities might become a vital element, enabling consumers to depict themselves in online spaces with higher flexibility (Wu et al. 2023). Brand engagement in the self-identity concept is a usual inclination of clients to utilize businesses to form their identities and to depict them to others. The previous research on self-congruity has shed certain light on such a relationship (Ostovan and Nasr, 2022). For example, the consumers of mobile phones with robust brand recognition are more likely to establish trust and perceive higher brand value which ultimately leads to a positive influence on customer loyalty. Another example can be in the setting of automobiles the clients who are capable of expressing their self-image with the company perceive greater brand loyalty. It can be said that the evolution of the metaverse has brought novel prospects and challenges for brand engagement (Ismail 2023). It has been found further that in the metaverse, clients can form their online identities and pursue brands that synchronize with their intended self-image, contributing to greater levels of brand engagement (Koohan et al. 2023). The Nike Brand develops a Nikeland which is the virtual replica of its real-time headquarters. In this metaverse platform, the users of Nike can form a community by collaborating with other users' avatars; purchasing Nike products for their avatars personalizing their looks; and competing in the games as well. The success of Nike on this front reflects clearly that the metaverse might be more than an online playground. This is found as a space wherein brands can develop tailored experiences that strengthen brand identity, add worth to digital collaborations, and offer access to online products that stimulate income growth (Dwivedi et al. 2023). 

As per the extended self-concept, people integrate goods and brands into their self-identity. It is found that consumers in the metaverse can trengthen their self-concept by customizing their online avatars, and collaborations with businesses. Such an extension of self-concept improves brand engagement and reinforces consumer-brand relations. The capability to personalize avatars, check on online clothes, and investigate customized online settings enables clients to express their identity and associate with businesses that resonate with their self-theory concept. Such synchronization nurtures sentimental associations and a sense of reliability, contributing to greater levels of involvement with the brand (Bartoli 2022). By leveraging the data gathered in online settings, businesses can customize suggestions, offers, and experiences to equate to clients' self-concept. Such customization develops a sense of being comprehended and valued by the company, further profounding the association between clients and the brand. This strengthens the notion that the brand identifies and advocates clients' intended self–image, contributing to enhanced brand loyalty. Also, the relationship quality is momentously associated with repurchase intention (Järvinen 2023). 

It is asserted by Joy et al. (2022) that businesses are considered to possess a personality that clients select to self-express and hence develop their self-identities. Users often utilize self-identity and expression to communicate their self-concept via avatars. The personalization of avatars assists consumers in depicting their notion or aspiration self; assisting them to converse better, exchange experiences, and be involved in self-expression in an online environment. In the case of the Nike Brand, the business incorporates an array of highly customized 3D online identities on Tmall.  This move depicts the brand's determination to develop a vigorous, interesting, and successful collaborative experience for the consumers and hence satisfy their loyalty. It has been found by Zimmermann et al. (2022) that self-representation is deemed a major area of avatar development and avatar use. It is further highlighted that the theory of transformed social interaction states that the conversion of self-representations is considered the major aspect of avatar-mediated communication. Such an aspect defines the capability to tactically alter the appearance and action of the avatar irrespective of the user's real attributes. Another scholar found that signs of self-representation via an avatar originated from self-discrepancy and impression management theories. The self-discrepency theory contrasts between the real self and the ideal self. The real self demonstrates the present self-image, and the ideal self entails the demonstration of how an individual might like to be and the attributes an individual might like to possess. The unfavorable sentiments occur from a substantial discrepancy between the real and ideal self. Henceforth, individuals strive to reduce such discrepancies through the creation of avatars. It has been stated that individuals demonstrate idealized attributes in virtual networks and hence are inclined to define how they might ideally observe them instead of how they are. As per the impression management concept, individuals strive to demonstrate them as idealized and favorable as possible. 

In online environments like video games and social channels, consumers usually develop a persona that depicts their agency in that space. The relationship between the consumers and their personas is intricate. Previous studies showed the relationship between personas as an extension of oneself (Procter 2021). It has been found that the simplicity of avatar usage is deemed a vital force in promoting sustained avatar engagement. When the use of avatar is associated with buying, the development of a more effective avatar perseverance tool virtually will assist in certifying that the favorable impacts of avatar use might translate to consumption. To fulfill the desires of such VR civilians, brands need to delve profounder to the forces that impact avatar attachment and personalization. With this, they might develop tailored experiences that resonate with consumers on a deeper level. It ultimately might contribute to enhanced consumer engagement and retention ratios within the metaverse (Arya et al. 2023). Another scholar Kalyvaki et al. (2023) asserted that by comprehending such forces, companies can establish targeted approaches to involve and retain consumers in the metaverse, mainly forming a robust and loyal client within the online setting. It might entail providing exclusive online products, experiences, or services that fulfill to users' preferences, offering prospects for social collaborations, and developing a smooth and captivating online environment. 

References

Arya, V., Sambyal, R., Sharma, A. and Dwivedi, Y.K., 2023. Brands are calling your AVATAR in Metaverse– A study to explore XR‐based gamification marketing activities & consumer‐based brand equity in the virtual world. Journal of Consumer Behaviour.

Bartoli, C., 2022. Consumer self-concept and digitalization: what does this mean for brands? Italian Journal of Marketing, 2022(4), pp.419-437.

Carter, D., 2022. Immersive employee experiences in the Metaverse: Virtual work environments, augmented analytics tools, and sensory and tracking technologies. Psychosociological Issues in Human Resource Management, 10(1), pp.35-49.

Dwivedi, Y.K., Hughes, L., Wang, Y., Alalwan, A.A., Ahn, S.J., Balakrishnan, J., Barta, S., Belk, R., Buhalis, D., Dutot, V. and Felix, R., 2023. Metaverse marketing: How the metaverse will shape the future of consumer research and practice. Psychology & Marketing, 40(4), pp.750-776.

Hamadneh, S., Hassan, J., Alshurideh, M., Al Kurdi, B. and Aburayya, A., 2021. The effect of brand personality on consumer self-identity: The moderation effect of cultural orientations among British and Chinese consumers. J. Legal Ethical & Regul. Issues, 24, p.1.

Ismail, A.R., 2023. Virtual Shopping in The Metaverse: How Brand Engagement in Self-Concept Influence Brand Loyalty. Available at SSRN 4494222.

Järvinen, L., 2023. Understanding luxury fashion and video game collaborations: Luxury skins in online games–Case League of Legends.

Joy, A., Zhu, Y., Peña, C. and Brouard, M., 2022. Digital future of luxury brands: Metaverse, digital fashion, and non‐fungible tokens. Strategic change, 31(3), pp.337-343.

Kalyvaki, M., McIntosh, H. and Nash, K., 2023. Virtual selfhood and consumer behavior: Exploring avatar attachment and consumption patterns in Second Life's metaverse. Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, p.100016.

Koohang, A., Nord, J.H., Ooi, K.B., Tan, G.W.H., Al-Emran, M., Aw, E.C.X., Baabdullah, A.M., Buhalis, D., Cham, T.H., Dennis, C. and Dutot, V., 2023. Shaping the metaverse into reality: a holistic multidisciplinary understanding of opportunities, challenges, and avenues for future investigation. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 63(3), pp.735-765.

Lee, H.W., Chang, K., Uhm, J.P. and Owiro, E., 2023. How Avatar Identification Affects Enjoyment in the Metaverse: The Roles of Avatar Customization and Social Engagement. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 26(4), pp.255-262.

Mohamed, K.S., 2023. Deep Learning for Spatial Computing: Augmented Reality and Metaverse “the Digital Universe”. In Deep Learning-Powered Technologies: Autonomous Driving, Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT), Augmented Reality, 5G Communications and Beyond (pp. 131-150). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.

Ostovan, N. and Nasr, A.K., 2022. The manifestation of luxury value dimensions in brand engagement in self-concept. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 66, p.102939.

Popescu, G.H., Valaskova, K. and Horak, J., 2022. Augmented reality shopping experiences, retail business analytics, and machine vision algorithms in the virtual economy of the metaverse. Journal of Self-Governance and Management Economics, 10(2), pp.67-81.

Procter, L., 2021. I am/we are: Exploring the online self-avatar relationship. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 45(1), pp.45-64.

Wu, S., Xu, L., Dai, Z. and Pan, Y., 2023. Factors Affecting Avatar Customization Behavior in Virtual Environments. Electronics, 12(10), p.2286.

Yemenici, A.D., 2022. Entrepreneurship in the world of metaverse: virtual or real? Journal of Metaverse, 2(2), pp.71-82.

Zimmermann, D., Wehler, A. and Kaspar, K., 2023. Self-representation through avatars in digital environments. Current Psychology, 42(25), pp.21775-21789.

You Might Also Like:- 

Certificate iv in Human Resource Management

Secure-Management-Assignment-Help

Management-Assignment Help