Abstract
While online shopping is popular, the online retail experience has various limitations. For example, customers may receive goods that are different from what they saw online after purchasing the goods. They may also find it difficult to return the goods that they are dissatisfied with. For online retailers, homogeneous competition, where many sellers sell the same product, has always been a major issue. Augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technology has been widely suggested to improve the online retail experience. This technology can enhance the experience of customers by improving how they interact with retailers, providing the latter with a competitive advantage. However, despite these benefits, AR/VR technology is not widely used by online retailers. This study investigates how AR/VR technology works and its potential impacts on online shopping. Based on the findings from a systematic literature review using thematic analysis, I found that while AR/VR technology offers many benefits to retailers and their customers, various obstacles, especially technical ones, exist to expanding their use. At the same time, the use of AR/VR technology also introduces new risks into the online shopping environment, which need to be managed.
