The Effectiveness of Sensory Stimulation in Virtual Reality Technology to Enhance Brand Experience and Purchase Intention

Abstract

Amid intensifying market competition, virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a powerful platform for delivering immersive brand experiences through multisensory
stimulation—encompassing visual, auditory, haptic, and even olfactory cues. Yet, a critical knowledge gap persists regarding how and under what conditions such
stimulation translates into enhanced brand experience and, ultimately, purchase intention—particularly given the fragmented, modality-specific nature of extant
research and the lack of integration across sensory, affective, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions of experience. This study addresses this gap through a
systematic literature review (SLR) of peer-reviewed empirical and theoretical works (2015–2025) sourced from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar,
following PRISMA-aligned screening and thematic–narrative synthesis protocols. Findings reveal that sensory immersion—the synergistic, contextually congruent
activation of multiple senses—acts as the proximal driver of brand experience, surpassing traditional visual immersion in efficacy. Crucially, core experiential
components (presence, immersion, flow, mental imagery) function as serial mediators between sensory input and behavioral outcomes, validating and extending
the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework into embodied digital contexts. However, effectiveness is highly contingent: it depends on system immersivity (e.g.,
HMD vs. desktop), product type (hedonic/utilitarian), user traits (e.g., need for touch, involvement), and, above all, sensory congruence—incongruence risks
cognitive overload and diminished impact. The study’s theoretical novelty lies in reconceptualizing sensory marketing (shifting from cue congruence to embodied
congruence), experiential branding (from outcome to process-mediator), and presence (from technological artifact to embodied gateway construct), culminating
in an integrative model: Multisensory Stimulation → Embodied Presence → Sensory Immersion → Brand Experience → Purchase Intention. For academia, this
advances immersive consumer research by unifying fragmented constructs, emphasizing boundary conditions, and calling for longitudinal, cross-cultural, and
ecologically valid designs to future-proof theory in the metaverse era.