Bridging the Information asymmetry in e-commerce: an intercultural perspective on sustainable clothing

Abstract:

Since literature revealed limited information among consumers as one of the main drivers for the intention-behavior-gap, this article focuses on how information can be communicated in a more effective manner. To overcome previous shortcomings (reliance on (online) surveys) for investigating this gap and increase closeness to reality (enabling touching textiles; try-ons), two laboratory experiments with between-subjects designs are conducted. It is examined if displaying textiles’ sustainability information through (i) QR codes linking to videos (n = 114) and/or (ii) Augmented Reality (AR; n = 124) enables informing consumers better than through conventional, textual hangtags. While QR codes linking to video improve product evaluation (p < 0.001) compared to textual hangtags, this effect could not be proven for AR (p = 0.058). Purchase intention increased in both studies when using digitalized information. Additionally, the intention-behavior gap can be narrowed using AR, since consumers who will actually buy the exhibited textiles make higher bids regarding willingness-to-pay.