Visual Style of Embodied Virtual Sales Agents

Su-Mae Tan, Tze Wei Liew, Chin Lay Gan and Wee Ming Wong
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Su-Mae Tan: Multimedia University, Malaysia
Tze Wei Liew: Multimedia University, Malaysia
Chin Lay Gan: Multimedia University, Malaysia
Wee Ming Wong: Multimedia University, Malaysia

International Journal of Technology and Human Interaction (IJTHI), 2021, vol. 17, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: The present study explored the effects of naturalism-stylization visual style of embodied virtual agents in an e-commerce website. An experiment was conducted in which participants (n=110) were paired with either the naturalistic or stylized agent that simulated the roles of a virtual sales assistant. It was shown that stylized agent produced significantly higher social perceptions of agent, perceived website social presence, perceived website social support than naturalistic agent. Moreover, stylized agent evoked significantly higher sense of website trust and lower perceived website financial risk from participants as compared to naturalistic agent. Further, the effects of visual style of agent on perceived website social presence was fully mediated by social perceptions of agent whereas the effects of visual style of agent on perceived website social support was partially mediated by perceived website social presence. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in this paper.

Date: 2021
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