The Effect of Avatar Self-Integration on Consumers’ Behavioral Intention in the Metaverse

This study explores the relationship between users and avatars, focusing on the degree of facial resemblance and the realism of fashion items as the main factors of avatar self-integration that affect consumers' behavioral intentions. Through a contactless survey, this study empirically identified how avatar–user resemblance and fashion item realism influence consumers' future spending intention on virtual fashion items and the continuous usage intention of the metaverse by mediating psychological identification. We also demonstrate the moderating role of users' self-monitoring of the effect of avatar–user resemblance on psychological identification. We found a positive mediation role of psychological identification between avatar–user resemblance, fashion item realism, and users' consumption intentions. Additionally, a higher self-monitoring tendency strengthens the positive effect of avatar–user resemblance on psychological identification. The study establishes an academic basis for metaverse retailing by uncovering connections between predictors contributing to users' consumption intentions in the metaverse.