Lectures & Seminars

Topic: The Double-Edged Impact of Augmented Reality: Uncertainty Reduction, Bias Introduction, and Product Returns in E-Commerce

Speaker: YANG Xue, Nanjing University Business School

Time: December 11, 2025, 10:00

Venue: EMS 216

Abstract:

Augmented reality (AR) has emerged as a significant technological innovation in e-commerce, yet its impact on business, particularly post-purchase product returns, remains unclear. Drawing on dual process theory and cue utilization theory, this study introduces the concept of contextual experience (CE), the extent to which product evaluation depends on its fit within a consumer’s specific context, to investigate AR’s impact on product returns. AR can reduce pre-purchase contextual fit uncertainty, leading to more informed purchases and thus lower return rates. However, AR’s vivid and immersive cues may also draw attention away from other non-contextual attributes, thereby increasing purchase likelihood but also the risk of post-purchase dissatisfaction and returns. We test these mechanisms through a multi-method approach: a quasi-experimental analysis of e-commerce data and a controlled online experiment. We find that AR reduces returns for products with high CE relevance but increases returns for products with low relevance. Moreover, the effect is moderated by information accessibility: products with more accessible information are less likely to see increased returns. Our findings highlight AR’s dual role in consumer decision-making and suggest that retailers should tailor AR implementation to product characteristics and information availability rather than adopting a uniform strategy.

Speaker Profile:

YANG Xue is a Professor and Doctoral Supervisor in the Department of Marketing and ECommerce, Business School, Nanjing University, and serves as the Director of the Office for Quality Improvement and Accreditation at the Business School. She earned her Ph.D. in Information Systems from the National University of Singapore and her Bachelor’s degree in Information Management and Information Systems from Nanjing University. Her main research interests include the digital economy and online platforms, big data management, mobile and social commerce, and the application of information systems. Her research has been published in journals such as Information Systems Research, Organization Science, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Management Sciences, and Journal of Management Engineering. She has been responsible for multiple projects, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Young Scientists Program and General Program) and the Nanjing University Interdisciplinary Young Scholars Program in Humanities and Social Sciences, and has participated in major initiatives such as the National Natural Science Foundation Innovation Research Group Project and the National Social Science Foundation Key Project. She has received several awards, including being selected for the third level of Jiangsu Province’s “333 HighLevel Talent Development Project” (sixth phase), Jiangsu Social Science Excellent Young Scholar, and Outstanding Young Backbone Teacher under Jiangsu’s “BlueGreen Project” for Higher Education. She serves as a Director of the Chinese Information Economics Society and a member of the Artificial Intelligence Technology and Management Application Research Committee. Additionally, she is the Senior Editor of the SSCIindexed journal Electronic Commerce Research and an Associate Editor for journals such as Information & Management.