Glimpse Into the Future Experience: When Is Virtual Reality Sampling Beneficial?

As we meet this year in Paris, a center of the Enlightenment and birthplace of new paradigms to thinking and knowing about the world, the setting seems particularly appropriate for discussing consumer knowledge. Consumer research has extensively studied how knowledge affects decision processes. However, little research has examined how knowledge shapes experiences. The current papers contribute to a nascent area of research addressing this important gap. These papers provide insight into the question of,“How can differences in consumer knowledge—in terms of both knowledge itself and the way in which knowledge is acquired—influence evaluations and enjoyment of consumption experiences?” The research in this session is relevant not just to academics, but also to marketers seeking to enhance consumer experiences by delivering the right information, in the right format.
First, O’Brien draws attention to the consequences of learning about the development of an upgraded version of a product. He finds that knowing that an improved version of the product will be available in the future affects consumers’ subjective experience with the product in the present. The key finding is that merely knowing this fact has a negative effect on the enjoyment of the experience with the current product.