Biomechanical convergence of virtual reality and brand design for enhancing physical consumer engagement
Abstract
Virtual Reality (VR) has become a transformative tool in brand marketing, allowing for immersive, interactive consumer experiences that transcend traditional media. While emotional and cognitive engagement in VR environments has been extensively studied, the impact of biomechanically-informed interactions on consumer behavior remains underexplored. This study investigates how physical engagement in VR, through metrics such as joint angles, muscle activation, and interaction frequency, influences cognitive outcomes like brand recall and emotional responses such as immersion and satisfaction. Thirty-six participants engaged with branded content in three distinct VR environments—a clothing store, a luxury car showroom, and a home decor studio—while their physical movements were tracked using motion capture and electromyography (EMG) sensors. The results showed that environments demanding more significant physical interaction, such as the car showroom, led to higher muscle activation, longer interaction times, and more excellent brand recall. Repeated measures Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlation analysis further revealed significant relationships between physical engagement and cognitive-emotional metrics, suggesting that VR environments designed with biomechanics in mind can enhance the user experience and the effectiveness of brand interactions. This research provides valuable insights into the convergence of biomechanics and VR brand design, with implications for the future of consumer engagement in virtual.
References
1. de Regt, A., Plangger, K., & Barnes, S. J. (2021). Virtual reality marketing and customer advocacy: Transforming experiences from story-telling to story-doing. Journal of Business Research, 136, 513-522.
2. Balasubramanian, K., Kunasekaran, P., Konar, R., & Sakkthivel, A. M. (2022). Integration of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) as marketing communications channels in the hospitality and tourism service sector. In Marketing Communications and Brand Development in Emerging Markets Volume II: Insights for a Changing World (pp. 55-79). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
3. Berberović, D., Alić, A., & Činjarević, M. (2022, May). Virtual reality in marketing: consumer and retail perspectives. In International Conference “New Technologies, Development and Applications” (pp. 1093-1102). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
4. Cordero Alvarez, J. A. (2022). An investigation into how marketers use Virtual Reality (VR) technology to enhance consumer interaction (Doctoral dissertation, Dublin, National College of Ireland).
5. Cowan, K., Spielmann, N., Horn, E., & Griffart, C. (2021). Perception is reality… How digital retail environments influence brand perceptions through presence. Journal of Business Research, 123, 86-96.
6. Song, H., Kim, J., Nguyen, T. P., Lee, K. M., & Park, N. (2021). Virtual reality advertising with brand experiences: the effects of media devices, virtual representation of the self, and self-presence. International Journal of Advertising, 40(7), 1096-1114.
7. Mostafa, R. B., & Kasamani, T. (2021). Brand experience and brand loyalty: is it a matter of emotions?. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 33(4), 1033-1051.
8. Balakrishnan, J., Dwivedi, Y. K., Mishra, A., Malik, F. T., & Giannakis, M. (2024). The role of embodiment and ergonomics in immersive VR tours in creating memorable tourism experiences. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
9. Tan, C. T., Foo, L. C., Yeo, A., Lee, J. S. A., Wan, E., Kok, X. F. K., & Rajendran, M. (2022, April). Understanding user experiences across VR Walking-in-Place locomotion methods. In Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-13).
10. Indumathi Nallathambi, Padmaja Savaram, Sudhakar Sengan*, Meshal Alharbi, Samah Alshathri, Mohit Bajaj, Moustafa H. Aly and Walid El-Shafai, Impact of Fireworks Industry Safety Measures and Prevention Management System on Human Error Mitigation Using a Machine Learning Approach, Sensors, 2023, 23 (9), 4365; DOI:10.3390/s23094365.
11. Parkavi Krishnamoorthy, N. Satheesh, D. Sudha, Sudhakar Sengan, Meshal Alharbi, Denis A. Pustokhin, Irina V. Pustokhina, Roy Setiawan, Effective Scheduling of Multi-Load Automated Guided Vehicle in Spinning Mill: A Case Study, IEEE Access, 2023, DOI:10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3236843.
12. Ran Qian, Sudhakar Sengan, Sapna Juneja, English language teaching based on big data analytics in augmentative and alternative communication system, Springer-International Journal of Speech Technology, 2022, DOI:10.1007/s10772-022-09960-1.
13. Ngangbam Phalguni Singh, Shruti Suman, Thandaiah Prabu Ramachandran, Tripti Sharma, Selvakumar Raja, Rajasekar Rangasamy, Manikandan Parasuraman, Sudhakar Sengan, “Investigation on characteristics of Monte Carlo model of single electron transistor using Orthodox Theory”, Elsevier, Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, Vol. 48, 2021, 101601, DOI:10.1016/j.seta.2021.101601.
14. Huidan Huang, Xiaosu Wang, Sudhakar Sengan, Thota Chandu, Emotional intelligence for board capital on technological innovation performance of high-tech enterprises, Elsevier, Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2021, 101633, DOI:10.1016/j.avb.2021.101633.
15. Sudhakar Sengan, Kailash Kumar, V. Subramaniyaswamy, Logesh Ravi, Cost-effective and efficient 3D human model creation and re-identification application for human digital twins, Multimedia Tools and Applications, 2021. DOI:10.1007/s11042-021-10842-y.
16. Prabhakaran Narayanan, Sudhakar Sengan*, Balasubramaniam Pudhupalayam Marimuthu, Ranjith Kumar Paulra, Novel Collision Detection and Avoidance System for Mid-vehicle Using Offset-Based Curvilinear Motion. Wireless Personal Communication, 2021. DOI:10.1007/s11277-021-08333-2.
17. Balajee Alphonse, Venkatesan Rajagopal, Sudhakar Sengan, Kousalya Kittusamy, Amudha Kandasamy, Rajendiran Periyasamy Modeling and multi-class classification of vibroarthographic signals via time domain curvilinear divergence random forest, J Ambient Intell Human Comput, 2021, DOI:10.1007/s12652-020-02869-0.
18. Omnia Saidani Neffati, Roy Setiawan, P Jayanthi, S Vanithamani, D K Sharma, R Regin, Devi Mani, Sudhakar Sengan*, An educational tool for enhanced mobile e-Learning for technical higher education using mobile devices for augmented reality, Microprocessors and Microsystems, Vol. 83, 2021, 104030, DOI:10.1016/j.micpro.2021.104030 .
19. Firas Tayseer Ayasrah, Nabeel S. Alsharafa, Sivaprakash S, Srinivasarao B, Sudhakar Sengan and Kumaran N, “Strategizing Low-Carbon Urban Planning through Environmental Impact Assessment by Artificial Intelligence-Driven Carbon Foot Print Forecasting”, Journal of Machine and Computing, Vol. 4, No. 04, 2024, doi: 10.53759/7669/jmc202404105.
20. Shaymaa Hussein Nowfal, Vijaya Bhaskar Sadu, Sudhakar Sengan*, Rajeshkumar G, Anjaneyulu Naik R, Sreekanth K, Genetic Algorithms for Optimized Selection of Biodegradable Polymers in Sustainable Manufacturing Processes, Journal of Machine and Computing, Vol. 4, No. 3, PP. 563-574, https://doi.org/10.53759/7669/jmc202404054.
21. Hayder M. A. Ghanimi, Sudhakar Sengan*, Vijaya Bhaskar Sadu, Parvinder Kaur, Manju Kaushik, Roobaea Alroobaea, Abdullah M. Baqasah, Majed Alsafyani & Pankaj Dadheech, An open-source MP + CNN + BiLSTM model-based hybrid model for recognizing sign language on smartphones. Int J Syst Assur Eng Manag (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13198-024-02376-x
22. K. Bhavana Raj, Julian L. Webber, Divyapushpalakshmi Marimuthu, Abolfazl Mehbodniya, D. Stalin David, Rajasekar Rangasamy, Sudhakar Sengan, Equipment Planning for an Automated Production Line Using a Cloud System, Innovations in Computer Science and Engineering. ICICSE 2022. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 565, pp 707–717, Springer, Singapore. DOI:10.1007/978-981-19-7455-7_57.
23. Kia, K. (2022). Biomechanical and Cognitive Evaluation of Human-Computer Interfaces: From Keyboard to Virtual and Augmented Reality.
24. Tao, D., Luo, W., Wu, Y., Yang, K., Wang, H., & Qu, X. (2024). Ergonomic assessment of mid-air interaction and device-assisted interactions under vibration environments based on task performance, muscle activity and user perceptions. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 192, 103364.
25. Huang, J., Zhang, H., Mao, L., Zhang, D., Li, J., Ji, T., & Han, R. (2024). The effect of tablet computer configurations and touchscreen gestures on human biomechanics, performance, and subjective assessment. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 40(2), 173-189.
26. Ventura, R. B. (2021). Exploring Design Principles Toward Enhanced Engagement in Technology-Mediated Telerehabilitation (Doctoral dissertation, New York University Tandon School of Engineering).
27. Zielasko, D., & Riecke, B. E. (2021). To sit or not to sit in VR: Analyzing influences and (dis) advantages of posture and embodied interaction. Computers, 10(6), 73.
28. Flautero, O. I. C. (2023). Investigating Mechanisms to Promote Engagement in Psychomotor Training Using Systematic Breaks in Presence in Virtual Reality.
29. Dubovi, I. (2022). Cognitive and emotional engagement while learning with VR: The perspective of multimodal methodology. Computers & Education, 183, 104495.
30. Higuera-Trujillo, J. L., Llinares, C., & Macagno, E. (2021). The cognitive-emotional design and study of architectural space: A scoping review of neuroarchitecture and its precursor approaches. Sensors, 21(6), 2193.
31. Ghafel, K., & Mohammed, O. (2020). Understanding VR/AR in marketing & sales for B2B: an explorative study (Master’s thesis, K. Ghafel; O. Mohammed).
32. Dalton, J. (2021). Reality check: How immersive technologies can transform your business. Kogan Page Publishers.
Copyright (c) 2024 Fujuan Zhang, Qiyi Liang
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright on all articles published in this journal is retained by the author(s), while the author(s) grant the publisher as the original publisher to publish the article.
Articles published in this journal are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, which means they can be shared, adapted and distributed provided that the original published version is cited.
Submit a Paper
