214 Int. J. Business Competition and Growth, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2021
Copyright © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Investigating interactive marketing technologies –
adoption of augmented/virtual reality in the Indian
context
Sujo Thomas
Amrut Mody School of Management,
East Campus, Navrangpura,
Ahmedabad University,
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Email: sujo.thomas@ahduni.edu.in
Abstract: With the rapid technological advancements and growing
competitiveness in the market, organisations have started marketing interactive
technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to have a
competitive edge. The constant growth of online shopping and digitalisation
coupled with growth of interactive technologies enables the consumer to try-on
the product virtually thereby improving the online shopping experience. The
focus of this study is to investigate the consumer awareness, consumer adoption
and the determinants of consumer adoption of AR/VR technologies in the
Indian context. The four dimensions that emerged of this study points towards
the technology adoption perspective of business owners/entrepreneurs were:
a) technology benchmarks; b) technology barriers; c) technology
implementation; d) technology applicability. This study would provide insights
regarding the AR/VR technology adoption levels of entrepreneurs engaged in
various business sectors and challenges associated with the same which would
be beneficial to marketers while designing online marketing strategies.
Keywords: augmented reality; virtual reality; interactive technology; consumer
awareness; consumer adoption; India.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Thomas, S.
(2021) ‘Investigating interactive marketing technologies – adoption of
augmented/virtual reality in the Indian context’, Int. J. Business Competition
and Growth, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp.214–230.
Biographical notes: Sujo Thomas is a Faculty in Marketing at Amrut Mody
School of Management in Ahmedabad University. He has over 18 years of
experience in academics and industry. His areas of research interest include
cause-related marketing, social media marketing and online grocery retailing.
1 Introduction
Owing to the growth of new and updating technologies penetrating the market, the
overall functioning of industries has seen a drastic change and has become far more
efficient. With the rapid technological advancements and growing competitiveness in the
market, organisations have started marketing interactive technologies such as augmented
reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to have a competitive edge. The constant growth of