Consumer Experience and Loyalty in the Metaverse: A Systematic Review
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study synthesizes eight articles through a systematic literature review and meta-synthesis to explore consumer experiences in the metaverse and their influence on brand loyalty. Six key themes were identified: Immersion–Presence–Awe Pathway, Avatar and Personalization, Visual Cognition and Decision-Making, Social Presence and Community Identity, Brand Anthropomorphism and Loyalty, and Habituation and Experience Dynamics. Findings show that technological factors such as immersion, avatars, personalization, and visual design act as stimuli that trigger cognitive and emotional responses, including presence, awe, and brand love, shaping engagement, purchase intentions, and loyalty. The study highlights the complex interaction of cognitive, affective, and conative dimensions in immersive environments and underscores the importance for marketers to create interactive, personalized, and sustainable experiences that sustain long-term consumer engagement.
Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Aloqaily, M., Bouachir, O., Karray, F., Al Ridhawi, I., & Saddik, A. El. (2023). Integrating Digital Twin and Advanced Intelligent Technologies to Realize the Metaverse. IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine, 12(6), 47–55. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCE.2022.3212570
Amjad, A., Kordel, P., & Fernandes, G. (2023). The systematic review in the field of management sciences. Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology. Organization and Management Series, 2023(170), 9–35. https://doi.org/10.29119/1641-3466.2023.170.1
Benítez Rojas, R. V. (2023). Geneses, Evolution, and Metafuture. In The Future of Digital Communication: the Metaverse (1st ed., pp. 1–13). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003379119-1/GENESES-EVOLUTION-METAFUTURE-RAQUEL-BEN
Bilgihan, A., Leong, A. M. W., Okumus, F., & Bai, J. (2024). Proposing a metaverse engagement model for brand development. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 78, 103781. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JRETCONSER.2024.103781
Bouallègue, S., Nefzi, A., & Chaney, D. (2025). Augmented reality’s influence on consumer responses: attachment and personal innovativeness effects. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/0965254X.2025.2561654
Bowo, F. A. (2023). Manajemen Pemasaran: Ikhtisar Konsep dan Teori. PT. Sangir Multi Usaha.
Bowo, F. A., Anisah, A., & Marthalia, L. (2024). Meme Marketing: Generation Z Consumer Behavior on Social Media. Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Sains, 5(02), 188–201. https://doi.org/10.59141/JISS.V5I02.995
Buhalis, D., Lin, M. S., & Leung, D. (2023). Metaverse as a driver for customer experience and value co-creation: implications for hospitality and tourism management and marketing. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 35(2), 701–716. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-05-2022-0631
Cappannari, L., & Vitillo, A. (2022). XR and Metaverse Software Platforms. In M. Alcañiz, M. Sacco, & J. G. Tromp (Eds.), Roadmapping Extended Reality: Fundamentals and Applications (pp. 135–156). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119865810.CH6
Chapman, J. R., Wang, J. C., & Wiechert, K. (2022). Into the Spine Metaverse: Reflections on a future Metaspine (Uni-)verse. Global Spine Journal, 12(4), 545–547. https://doi.org/10.1177/21925682221085643
Chaudhuri, N., Gupta, G., & Lim, W. M. (2026). A stimulus-organism-response eye-tracking survey of how background-foreground images drive image appeal, product perception, and willingness to pay in e-commerce. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 88, 104508. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JRETCONSER.2025.104508
Cho, M., Ko, E., & Jung, H. (2024). Virtual reality luxury fashion show: how imaginary space influences brand word of mouth. International Journal of Advertising. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2024.2419227
Erensoy, A., Mathrani, A., Schnack, A., Elms, J., & Baghaei, N. (2024). Consumer behavior in immersive virtual reality retail environments: A systematic literature review using the stimuli-organisms-responses (S-O-r) model. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 23(6), 2781–2811. https://doi.org/10.1002/CB.2374
Evans, L., Frith, J., & Saker, M. (2022). The Roots of the Metaverse. In From Microverse to Metaverse (pp. 15–24). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80455-021-220221002
Fan, X., Li, H., & Jiang, X. (2025). Owing to interactivity: a meta-analysis on consumer-brand responses in the digital context. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-09-2024-0457/1255984/Owing-To-Interactivity-A-Meta-Analysis-On-Consumer
Ibrahim, B., & Aljarah, A. (2023). The era of Instagram expansion: matching social media marketing activities and brand loyalty through customer relationship quality. Journal of Marketing Communications, 29(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2021.1984279
Ibrahim, N. S., Azman Ong, M. H., & Zamani, N. D. (2025). Exploring continuance intention determinants of using the metaverse technology: an extended self-determination theory incorporating technological elements, flow experience and technophilia. Online Information Review, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-12-2024-0815
Islam, M. S., Al Mamun, M., & Hoque, I. (2025). A guide to literature reviews: a comprehensive flowchart beyond PRISMA for sample selection and justifications. Management Review Quarterly, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11301-025-00528-2/FIGURES/4
Jafar, R. M. S., Jabeen, M., Hussain, S., Niu, B., Sham, R., & Al-Adwan, A. S. (2025). Cyber Shopping Beyond Boundaries: The Metaverse Revolution in e-Commerce and Consumer Behavior. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2025(1), 5559234. https://doi.org/10.1155/HBE2/5559234
Jai, T. C., Tong, X., & Chen, H. S. (2022). Building brand loyalty on social media: theories, measurements, antecedents, and consequences. Journal of Brand Management, 29(1), 35–57. https://doi.org/10.1057/S41262-021-00252-8/METRICS
Kamdjou, H. M., Baudry, D., Havard, V., & Ouchani, S. (2024). Resource-Constrained EXtended Reality Operated with Digital Twin in Industrial Internet of Things. IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society, 5, 928–950. https://doi.org/10.1109/OJCOMS.2024.3356508
Kautish, P., Lim, W. M., & Joshi, N. (2025). Awe-inspired experience in the metaverse: A multi-study investigation. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 87, 104390. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JRETCONSER.2025.104390
Kayakoku, H. (2023). History and Development of Virtual Worlds and Metaverse. In Studies in Big Data (Vol. 133, pp. 19–30). Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4641-9_2
Kim, H., Yoo, J., & Park, M. (2025). Metaverse friends with social benefits: Effects of social identity on the intention to purchase virtual products through site attachment, user engagement, and public self-consciousness. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 83, 104158. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JRETCONSER.2024.104158
Kı ymalı oğlu, A., Yetkiän Özbük, R. M., Aydın Ünal, D., Dirlik, O., & Akar, N. (2024). Unpacking Sustainable Packaging Through the Stimulus-Organism-Response Model: A Systematic Literature Review. SAGE Open, 14(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241302320
Kumar Mishra, M., Kesharwani, A., Gautam, V., & Sinha, P. (2022). Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) Model Application in Examining the Effectiveness of Public Service Advertisements. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BUSINESS, 27(2), 1–17.
Lim, W. M. (2025). Systematic Literature Reviews: Reflections, Recommendations, and Robustness Check. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 24(3), 1498–1510. https://doi.org/10.1002/CB.2479
McFarlane, A. (2022). Stephenson, Neal. In P. O’Donnell, S. J. Burn, & L. Larkin (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Fiction 1980–2020 (pp. 1–6). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119431732.ECAF0220
Mohamed Shaffril, H. A., Samsuddin, S. F., & Abu Samah, A. (2021). The ABC of systematic literature review: the basic methodological guidance for beginners. Quality and Quantity, 55(4), 1319. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11135-020-01059-6
Morganti, C., & Bartolomei, C. (2024). The Future of Learning Drawing: Exploring the Metaverse in Education. Springer Series in Design and Innovation, 43, 112–121. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-57575-4_14
Mourtzis, D., Panopoulos, N., Angelopoulos, J., Wang, B., & Wang, L. (2022). Human centric platforms for personalized value creation in metaverse. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 65, 653–659. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JMSY.2022.11.004
Muhammad Sohail Jafar, R., Ahmad, W., & Chen, Y. (2024). Metaverse in Human Behavior: The Role of Telepresence and Flow Experience on Consumers’ Shopping Behavior in the Metaverse. SAGE Open, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241261256
Pooja, Verma, P., & Singh, J. (2024). The influence of AR & VR-induced reality congruence on customer engagement in e-commerce websites: a mediation analysis. International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/S13198-024-02575-6/METRICS
Pragha, P., Dhalmahapatra, K., & Natarajan, T. (2025). The future of human experience: the drivers of user adoption of the metaverse. Online Information Review, 49(4), 669–706. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-09-2023-0449
Qayyum, A., Butt, M. A., Ali, H., Usman, M., Halabi, O., Al-Fuqaha, A., Abbasi, Q. H., Imran, M. A., & Qadir, J. (2024). Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence-extended Reality (AI-XR) for Metaverses. ACM Computing Surveys, 56(7), 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1145/3614426
Rahman, S. M., Chowdhury, N. H., Bowden, J. L. H., & Carlson, J. (2025). Metaverse platform attributes and customer experience measurement. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 83, 104159. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JRETCONSER.2024.104159
Rana, S., Bag, S., Ghosal, I., & Prasad, B. (2023). How Do Influencers Moderate Purchase Motives? An Application of S-O-R Model to Assess the Effects of Reviewers’ Rating on Online Purchase. Journal of Promotion Management, 29(8), 1168–1197. https://doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2023.2216292
Rather, R. A., Zaman, M., Rasul, T., Nawaz, M. Z., & Akhtar, N. (2025). Why do customers engage and interact in metaverse tourism? An SOR perspective. Current Issues in Tourism, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2024.2440808
Samira Bafadhal, A., Hafiz Hanafiah, M., Izwan Anuar, F., Khaerunisa Lestari, D., samira Bafadhal, aniesa, hafiz hanafiah, mohd, & izwan anuar, F. (2025). Psychological drivers of attitude and revisit intentions in virtual reality rides at amusement parks: telepresence, flow and enjoyment. Cogent Social Sciences, 11(1), 2556480. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2025.2556480
Shao, Z., Zhao, T., & Yin, X. (2025). Antecedents of consumers’ purchase intention in metaverse commerce: a technology affordance perspective. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-02-2025-0108/1276249/ANTECEDENTS-OF-CONSUMERS-PURCHASE-INTENTION-IN
Sharma, I., Sharma, S., Aggarwal, A., & Gupta, S. (2024). Exploring the link between creative tourist experiences and intentions among Gen Z: a sequential mediation modeling approach in creative tourism. Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, 25(6), 928–952. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-01-2024-1950
Smethurst, R., Barbereau, T., & Nilsson, J. (2023). The Metaverse’s Thirtieth Anniversary: From a Science-Fictional Concept to the “Connect Wallet” Prompt. Philosophy and Technology, 36(3), 1–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/S13347-023-00612-Z/FIGURES/8
Söderström, C., Mikalef, P., Dypvik Landmark, A., & Gupta, S. (2024). Augmented reality (AR) marketing and consumer responses: A study of cue-utilization and habituation. Journal of Business Research, 182, 114813. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JBUSRES.2024.114813
Szilagyi, K., & Fawcett, C. (2024). Buying and selling the Metaverse: Science fiction speculation, modern technologies and digital data economies. In Science Fiction as Legal Imaginary (1st ed., pp. 247–270). Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003412274-14/BUYING-SELLING-METAVERSE-KATIE-SZILAGYI-CHRISTINA-FAWCETT
Uddin, M., Obaidat, M., Manickam, S., Laghari, S. U. A., Dandoush, A., Ullah, H., & Ullah, S. S. (2024). Exploring the convergence of Metaverse, Blockchain, and AI: A comprehensive survey of enabling technologies, applications, challenges, and future directions. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery, 14(6), e1556. https://doi.org/10.1002/WIDM.1556
Uddin, S. M. F., Kirmani, M. D., Bin Sabir, L., Faisal, M. N., & Rana, N. P. (2025). Consumer resistance to WhatsApp payment system: integrating innovation resistance theory and SOR framework. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 43(2), 393–411. https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-09-2023-0519
Vafaei-Zadeh, A., Nikbin, D., Thiew, L. L., & Hanifah, H. (2025). Modeling purchase intention for virtual reality hardware: a cognition-affect-conation (CAC) approach. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-07-2024-1008/1250526/MODELING-PURCHASE-INTENTION-FOR-VIRTUAL-REALITY
Vernuccio, M., Boccalini, S., & Patrizi, M. (2025). “Being” with the brand in the metaverse: Strengthening brand anthropomorphism to foster brand love. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 84, 104204. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JRETCONSER.2024.104204
Wang, J., Li, Y., Miao, L., Liu, Y., & Li, J. (2024). How does the metaverse transform festival tourism? A Cognitive-Affective Personality System (CAPS) theory. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 41(8), 1124–1140. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2024.2379322
Wilk, V., Soutar, G. N., & Harrigan, P. (2021). Online brand advocacy and brand loyalty: a reciprocal relationship? Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 33(10), 1977–1993. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-05-2020-0303
Wongkitrungrueng, A., & Suprawan, L. (2024). Metaverse Meets Branding: Examining Consumer Responses to Immersive Brand Experiences. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 40(11), 2905–2924. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2023.2175162
Yang, L., Ni, S. T., Wang, Y., Yu, A., Lee, J. A., & Hui, P. (2025). Interoperability of the Metaverse: A Digital Ecosystem Perspective Review. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 53(3), 29–54. https://doi.org/10.1109/EMR.2025.3564923
Yin, J., Qiu, X., & Wang, Y. (2025). The Impact of AI-Personalized Recommendations on Clicking Intentions: Evidence from Chinese E-Commerce. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research , 20(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/JTAER20010021
Yitmen, I., Alizadehsalehi, S., Akiner, M. E., & Akiner, I. (2023). Integration of Digital Twins, Blockchain and AI in Metaverse Enabling Technologies and Challenges. In Cognitive Digital Twins for Smart Lifecycle Management of Built Environment and Infrastructure Challenges, Opportunities and Practices (1st ed., pp. 39–64). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003230199-3/INTEGRATION-DIGITAL-TWINS-BLOCKCHAIN-AI-METAVERSE-IBRAHIM-YITMEN-SEPEHR-ALIZADEHSALEHI-MUHAMMED-ERNUR-AKINER-ILKNUR-AKINER
Zawish, M., Dharejo, F. A., Khowaja, S. A., Raza, S., Davy, S., Dev, K., & Bellavista, P. (2024). AI and 6G Into the Metaverse: Fundamentals, Challenges and Future Research Trends. IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society, 5, 730–778. https://doi.org/10.1109/OJCOMS.2024.3349465
Zhang, H., Lv, Y., Zhang, J. Z., Hollebeek, L. D., Behl, A., & Urbonavicius, S. (2025). Exploring purchase intention in metaverse retailing: Insights from an automotive platform. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 82, 104144. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JRETCONSER.2024.104144