Examining self-congruence between user and avatar in purchasing behavior from the metaverse to the real world

The aim of this study was to examine the role of "avatar" in the metaverse, specifically, by exploring how appearance similarity with an avatar affects virtual product purchase intention, which is mediated by self-congruence and flow. Further, this study also attempted to find how human behavior in the virtual world could affect behavior in the real world. An online survey was administered to a total of 164 users of a popular South Korean metaverse platform ZEPETO. The findings indicated that the appearance similarity with the avatar influenced virtual product purchase intention, and this relationship was fully mediated by avatar-self congruence and flow. This study also found that virtual product purchase intention could influence real product purchase intention. Based on these findings, it is suggested high-quality avatar customization is critical for users, and retail brands can utilize metaverse as a new marketing tool and as a testbed for new products.