A Comprehensive Examination of Mobile Augmented Reality in Tourism (MART) Adoption: Using the UTAUT2 Framework

Introduction

The online marketing scene is expected to change substantially due to anticipated technological advancements in the modern marketing industry (Hoyer et al., 2020). The online marketplace is aggressively implementing dynamic and immersive 3D shopping experiences, or reality marketing, as a calculated move to get beyond the visual limitations of 2D webpages. The potential benefits of this model, academic advice emphasises how crucial it is for companies to seamlessly integrate Augmented Reality (AR) into their marketing plans and create novel connections between customers and AR through specialised commercial applications (Rauschnabel et al., 2019). Customers can quickly view and evaluate products or services in the real world using real-time Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) smartphone apps (David et al., 2021). The technologist can replace virtual furniture in physical spaces with digital customisations, doing away with the need to move furniture around physically for assessment. Customers like to view 3D-modelled chairs in the online showroom, which will suit their smart home. The launch of Amazon AR View allays worries about buying furniture via the Amazon app, which did not have augmented reality functionality. Virtual product placement via AR reduces customers' doubts about how a product will fit into their homes, increasing their propensity to purchase (David, 2020). According to Hoyer et al. (2020), augmented reality (AR) technologies will remarkably impact consumers' purchase decisions and satisfaction. Technologists generally agree that investigating how AR applications affect user experience is theoretically and practically important, given how quickly these apps spread across various industries (Loureiro et al., 2019). As a long-term strategic capability increasingly incorporated into business marketing plans, augmented reality marketing is recognised as a separate entity within digital marketing (Rauschnabel et al., 2019; David et al., 2023).

According to Chylinski et al. (2020), the main goal of AR marketing is to achieve corporate goals and to enhance the understanding of the consumer decision-making process simultaneously. Businesses can use AR apps to improve post-purchase services, enhance user experience throughout the buying process, and give consumers access to simulations and contextual data before sales. They demonstrated observable consumer benefits through seamless digital data amalgamation with real-world settings. Marketing provides embedded experiences (Chylinski et al., 2020). This research delves deeper and deeper into AR, a valuable and transformative medium of human experiences made available by mobile technology. It is distinguished by a tech assembly that blends computer-generated virtual objects into real-world scenarios (Fan et al., 2022). Users of AR perceive augmented content as a natural part of their surroundings as virtual elements are seamlessly integrated into the physical world. Braud et al. (2017) and Chylinski et al. (2020) claimed that this feature allows augmented reality marketing to change digital content dynamically, encouraging user interaction within a shared, integrated environment. With mobile devices such as laptops, iPads, and smartphones—which include iPhone and Android devices—MAR combines virtual and physical elements (Craig, 2013). Hinsch et al. (2020), MAR applications have gained considerable traction in consumer markets in various sectors, including communications, production, power, healthcare, and education. Notably, IKEA unveiled the MAR app, allowing users to virtually arrange inventory items in their homes. Virtualised online environments blend the ease of e-commerce with the tactile appeal of real storefronts (Ketoma et al., 2018). Social media platforms have also joined the MAR field, as seen by Facebook's virtual social hub, Oculus users, which promotes user engagement, world building and gaming (Yu et al., 2019). Expanding MAR into a robust consumer industry Advances in IT hardware mobile are also driven by the increasing use of devices (Bonetti et al., 2018).