Immersive XR That Moves People: How XR Advertising Transforms Comprehension, Empathy, and Behavioural Intention

TL;DR

This study shows that immersive XR advertising enhances empathy and purchase intention more than traditional 2D ads, with empathy mediating the effect on buying decisions.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence that XR advertising boosts empathy and influences behavior, highlighting the psychological impact of immersive experiences.

Findings

XR increases perceived comprehension and empathy.

Enhanced empathy mediates higher purchase intention.

XR outperforms 2D advertising in evaluative dimensions.

Abstract

Extended Reality (XR) affords an enhanced sense of bodily presence that supports experiential modes of comprehension and affective engagement which exceed the possibilities of conventional information delivery. Nevertheless, the psychological processes engendered by XR, and the manner in which these processes inform subsequent behavioural intentions, remain only partially delineated. The present study addresses this issue within an applied context by comparing non-immersive 2D viewing advertising with immersive XR experiential advertising. We examined whether XR strengthens internal responses to a product, specifically perceived comprehension and empathy, and whether these responses, in turn, influence the behavioural outcome of purchase intention. A repeated-measures two-way ANOVA demonstrated a significant main effect of advertising modality, with XR yielding higher ratings on all evaluative dimensions. Mediation analysis further indicated that the elevation in purchase intention was mediated by empathy, whereas no significant mediating effect was observed for comprehension within the scope of this study. These findings suggest that immersive XR experiences augment empathic engagement with virtual products, and that this enhanced empathy plays a pivotal role in shaping subsequent behavioural intentions.