A Matter of Taste: Seeking Uniqueness in the Metaverse Consumption

Qing Tang, Xun (Irene) Huang and Kuangjie Zhang

Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2025, vol. 10, issue 2, 153 - 164

Abstract: Consumers are increasingly engaging in the metaverse, offering marketers burgeoning opportunities. The current research shows that consumption in the metaverse, as opposed to the real world, increases consumers’ tendency to seek uniqueness. A pilot study offers preliminary field evidence for this phenomenon. In subsequent experimental studies, we found that consumers are more likely to choose unique products in the metaverse than in the real world (studies 1A and 1B). This effect arises because differences between product options are perceived as more subjective in the metaverse than in the real world (studies 2A and 2B). Providing further support for this account, we show that the greater tendency to seek uniqueness in metaverse consumption is attenuated when the key differentiating attributes of the product are highly objective (study 3). Our findings provide relevant implications for metaverse marketing.

Date: 2025
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