[Book Sip] Brand Psychologist Thinks About the Metaverse

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The author, a brand psychologist, views the metaverse from the customer's perspective and focuses on ways to enhance experiential value. To this end, the author proposes the necessity of a 'psychological perspective.' In other words, before business, think about people; before technology, think about experience, thereby changing the frame through which we view virtual spaces. Based on the question, "What kind of experience makes one remember a space satisfactorily?" the author thoroughly examines research on sensory responses in both online and offline spaces and scours the latest papers on the metaverse itself to find the answer. From the form and layout of spaces, colors and temperature, product displays, to interactions between avatars, the book meticulously explores how consumer responses vary depending on the design of virtual spaces.

In psychology, cognition refers to the series of mental processes that occur from receiving external stimuli to responding. In other words, it is the information processing (attention, perception, interpretation, memory, etc.) that happens in the mind when various sensory information is received in a virtual space. Scholars studying virtual worlds describe human cognition, attitudes, and behaviors as 'experience,' and they consider two main factors influencing experience in virtual spaces: immersive presence (immersion) and interaction with the environment (social interaction). - Chapter 1: On the Subtleties of Virtual Reality, pp. 36-37

In other words, companies need to consider strategies that present store types suitable for consumers' purchase motivations and patterns after building virtual stores with various layouts. For example, consumers with a utilitarian motivation who want to purchase desired products quickly may value the convenience of moving through the store more than the enjoyment of shopping. Therefore, it is advantageous to allow them to shop in both avant-garde and utilitarian stores. - Chapter 3: Designing Customer Satisfaction in the Metaverse, pp. 81-82

Earlier, we questioned how low-priced avatar items released by luxury brands might affect existing luxury customers. Applying the brand tourism effect, we can somewhat infer the answer to this question. If teenagers who purchase luxury shoes and clothes costing a few thousand won on Zepeto or Roblox adopt the stance of brand immigrants, believing they are now customers of luxury brands, existing luxury brand customers may feel less pride in the brand and are more likely to exhibit negative attitudes and behaviors. - Chapter 4: Is Sensory Marketing Possible in Virtual Stores?, pp. 112-113

Analyzing whether different avatar types have more positive effects on shopping experiences depending on the level of involvement, it was found that for high involvement, avatars with high expertise (relative to attractiveness) led to higher satisfaction with the shopping mall, more positive attitudes toward products, and greater purchase intentions. This result can be interpreted as trust in the message sender being higher for avatars with high expertise (which is important in high involvement). Conversely, for moderate involvement, avatars with high attractiveness were more effective. - Chapter 6: Can We Empathize with Avatars?, p. 154

When tactile feedback was provided along with visual information in virtual reality, the sense of body ownership and presence increased, and even non-perfect tactile stimuli, such as ultrasonic feedback, produced significant effects. Referring to previous research showing that body ownership enhances psychological ownership and leads to positive product evaluations, this highlights the importance and significance of tactile feedback. - Chapter 7: Touching, Feeling, and Owning Virtually, pp. 174-175

Warmth was selected as important for elderly care services, and competence was selected for financial services. After varying the pitch of voices in advertisements, advertising effects (purchase consideration, recommendation intention, expected satisfaction) were measured. The results showed that for elderly care services, higher-pitched voices yielded better advertising effects, while for financial services, lower-pitched voices were more effective. This confirms the associative link of 'higher pitch = warmth' and also shows that a higher voice pitch is not always advantageous in evaluations. - Chapter 8: Temperature Changes People's Choices, p. 200

This indicates that companies need to carefully design the pre-visual information exposed to consumers in metaverse virtual reality. Recently, companies like Spatial, a U.S. metaverse platform developer, have been exhibiting NFT artworks in the lobbies and store entrances of virtual buildings. Such NFT artworks can unintentionally trigger visual priming, altering consumers' evaluation criteria, so caution is necessary. - Chapter 9: Knowing the 'Priming Effect' When Displaying Products, p. 224

Brand Psychologist Thinks About the Metaverse | Written by Jiheon Kim | Galmaenamu | 256 pages | 18,000 KRW