With the high growth and prosperity of e-commerce, the retail industry needs to explore new technologies that improve digital shopping experiences. In the current technological scenario, Virtual Reality (VR) emerges as a tool and an opportunity for enhancing shopping activities, especially for the fashion industry. This study explores whether using Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) technologies enhances the shopping experience in the fashion industry compared to Desktop Virtual Reality (DVR). A within-subject experiment was carried out involving a sample of 60 participants who completed a simulated shopping experience. In the first mode (DVR), a desktop computer setup was used to test the shopping experience using a mouse and keyboard for navigation. The second mode (IVR) exploited a Head-Mounted Display (HMD), and controllers, that allowed navigation while seated on a workstation to avoid sickness. Participants had to find a bag in the virtual shop and explore its features until they were ready to purchase it. Post-hoc measures of time duration of the shopping experience, hedonic and utilitarian values, user experience, and cognitive load were compared. Results showed that participants experienced higher hedonism and utilitarianism in the IVR shop compared to DVR. The cognitive load was comparable in both modes, while user experience was higher in IVR. In addition, the time duration of the shopping experience was higher in IVR, where users stayed immersed and enjoyed it for longer. This study has implications for fashion industry research, as the use of IVR can potentially lead to novel shopping patterns by enhancing the shopping experience.

The design research and education landscapes are changing. The widespread development and use of technologies such as Mixed Reality (MR) and the diffusion of Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) available at low cost are causing a shift in design education toward the Metaverse. In this ever-changing scenario, there is a need to rethink design and teaching methods. However, scientific literature lacks the ability to provide contributions that include MR technology education in the industrial design program. We, therefore, present an innovative laboratory with an integrated multidisciplinary approach that starts from the fundamentals of interaction design and aims to teach students how to design next-generation MR interfaces for the Metaverse. The lab combines theory and practice within three courses: Information Design, Information Systems, and Virtual Design and Simulation. Industrial design students follow a precise multidisciplinary method consisting of five steps, from state-of-the-art analysis to the presentation of a final group design of an MR user interface. Thus, we introduce a class case study by presenting the outcomes of a semester project in the field of household appliances. Evaluation of the teaching method is conducted through a semi-structured questionnaire. Preliminary results show positive outcomes from students in terms of acceptance, effectiveness, usefulness, efficiency, and satisfaction with the teaching method adopted for the laboratory.

This study aims to assess the incorporation of virtual reality (VR) photography into the web-based immersive application “virtual interactive campus tour (VICT).” This application offers users an immersive experience, allowing them to virtually explore university campuses and access information about the facilities and services available. The VICT application offers a cost-effective, attractive, and sustainable alternative for universities to display their resources and interact with potential students. Through black box testing, we conducted user acceptance testing (UAT) and functionality testing, confirming the application’s readiness for deployment and its capability to meet institutional and end-user requirements. This study also examined the potential for universities to use VR to meet the expectations of prospective students. The application is compatible with both desktop and mobile devices. The results indicated that the overall average validity score was 0.88, suggesting that the measure is valid. The validation results were thoroughly tested and reliable. This study emphasizes the potential of immersive web-based tours in higher education and aims to bridge the divide between virtual exploration and physical visits. By offering an immersive virtual campus experience, this innovative tool has the potential to revolutionize university marketing strategies, increase student engagement, and transform campus visit approaches.

The choice of furniture in a retail store is usually based on a product catalog and simplistic product renderings with different configurations. We present a preliminary field study that tests a Multi-Sensory In-Store Virtual Reality Customer Journey (MSISVRCJ) through a virtual catalog and a product configurator to support furnishings sales. The system allows customers to stay immersed in the virtual environment (VE) while the sales expert changes the colors, textures, and finishes of the furniture, also exploring different VEs. In addition, customers can experience realistic tactile feedback with in-store samples of furniture they can test. The journey is implemented for a furniture manufacturer and tested in a flagship store. Fifty real customers show positive feedback in terms of general satisfaction, perceived realism, and acceptance. This method can increase purchase confidence, reduce entrepreneurial costs, and leverage in-store versus online shopping.

Nowadays, buying a product online is no longer about the product itself but the experience it offers. The planned thesis work aims to understand how to improve the user's shopping experience in the context of online shopping for the fashion industry. To enhance the shopping experience, retailers need to sell new services by leveraging technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR). The first part of the research investigates which shopping experience, between one developed for a desktop computer - Desktop Virtual Reality (DVR) - and one developed in Virtual Reality (VR), generates better results in terms of hedonic and utilitarian values, cognitive load, and user experience. Also, the lack of touch in online shopping is a crucial issue. The second part of the research concerns the implementation of pseudo-haptics feedback within the online shopping experience with VR. Pseudo-haptics can induce haptic sensations without requiring actual touch through the influence of other sensory modalities, such as vision. To this end, we aim to explore the feasibility of recreating the sensation of people's actual touch with fashion products and fabrics through a “visualized touch” on an interface.

The metaverse, driven by mixed reality (MR), is positioned as the future market, revolutionizing product exploration in virtual space. Existing literature on this subject mainly focuses on Business-To-Consumer (B2C) perspectives, leaving a gap in understanding Business-To-Business (B2B) applications, particularly in the fashion industry. This paper introduces a “Mixed Tactile Catalog” (MTC) for B2B that combines a physical, foldable cardboard booth with an MR application linked to a Head-Mounted Display (HMD). Targeting the fashion sector's need for high standards in material evaluation, the MTC allows retailers and distributors to browse garments, customize material attributes, and receive visual and tangible feedback. Evaluation through a focus group of 10 industry experts revealed positive feedback. The MTC maintains the tangibility of traditional B2B showrooms and reduces the environmental impact by minimizing transportation, samples, and waste. This innovative approach offers an efficient and sustainable alternative to conventional physical showrooms, enhancing both economic and ecological aspects.