Ideal or actual? Effects of self-avatar type on impulse buying tendency

Abstract: Virtual self-avatars have become an important way for consumers to construct and express their identity in virtual worlds, and they increasingly influence decisions in the physical marketplace. Prior research has mainly examined avatars’ social and identity functions or in-world behaviors, but has paid relatively little attention to how different self-avatar types shape consumers’ impulse buying tendency in the real world. In particular, it remains unclear whether ideal (vs. actual) self-avatars have differential effects on consumers’ impulse buying tendency, and through what psychological mechanisms and under what boundary conditions these effects emerge. Drawing on self-perception theory, we propose that experiencing an ideal rather than an actual self-avatar enhances avatar identification, which in turn increases consumers’ impulse buying tendency in the real world, and that this process is contingent upon virtual environment experience mode, self-esteem, and technology familiarity.
Five experiments tested these predictions. Study 1 (N = 150) used a single-factor between-subjects design that manipulated avatar type (ideal vs. actual) to test the main effect and the mediating role of avatar identification. Study 2 (N = 163) employed a 2 (avatar type: ideal vs. actual) × 2 (virtual environment experience mode: VR vs. PC) between-subjects design to test the moderating role of virtual environment experience mode. Study 3 (N = 177) examined whether self-esteem moderated the indirect effect of avatar type on impulse buying tendency through avatar identification. Study 4 (N = 164) examined whether technology familiarity moderated the indirect effect of avatar type on impulse buying tendency through avatar identification. Study 5 (N = 154) further incorporated a real purchase task to measure actual buying behavior and to test alternative mediating explanations. Across experiments, participants created either an ideal or an actual self-avatar, experienced virtual environments through different virtual environment experience modes, and then reported their avatar identification and impulse buying tendency or engaged in purchase decisions.
The main findings of this research are as follows. First, compared with actual self-avatars, ideal self-avatars significantly increased consumers’ impulse buying tendency in the real world. Second, experiencing an ideal (vs. actual) self-avatar significantly enhanced avatar identification, which in turn increased their impulse buying tendency, indicating a significant mediating role of avatar identification. Third, virtual environment experience mode significantly moderated the effect of avatar type: compared with the PC experience mode, experiencing an ideal (vs. actual) self-avatar in the VR experience mode led to higher avatar identification and stronger impulse buying tendency, whereas these effects became attenuated and nonsignificant in the PC experience mode. Finally, individual differences further constrained this mediated effect: the indirect effect via avatar identification was evident primarily among consumers with low self-esteem but was attenuated among those with high self-esteem; a similar pattern emerged for technology familiarity, such that the indirect effect was significant among consumers with low familiarity but not among those with high familiarity. Results from the behavioral experiment further showed that ideal self-avatars increased actual purchase behavior, while alternative explanations were not supported.
This research clarifies how different virtual self-avatar types shape consumers’ avatar identification and, in turn, their real-world impulse buying tendency across different virtual environment experience modes. By identifying the mediating role of avatar identification and the moderating roles of virtual environment experience mode, self-esteem, and technology familiarity, the findings extend self-perception theory. They also enrich research on self-avatars and the spillover effects of virtual experiences, and broaden our understanding of how virtual worlds influence real-world consumer behavior. Practically, the results inform firms’ avatar strategy design, consumer segmentation, and the development of immersive consumption scenarios.