Augmented Reality as a Catalyst for Sustainable Purchase Intention: Insights from Generation Z Women in the Indian Beauty Industry

Abstract

Despite the increasing adoption of augmented reality in the beauty industry, limited empirical evidence explains how AR marketing influences purchase intention through sustainable consumption among Generation Z women in India. This paper examines the influence of Augmented Reality Marketing (AR) on the Purchase Intention of Generation Z women in the Indian beauty industry with sustainable consumption serving as the mediating variable.Grounded in  Situated Cognition theory this paper conceptualises Augmented Reality using the EEE (Embed, Embodied, Extended) framework to explain how immersive marketing influences consumer decision making.. This study adopts a quantitative cross-sectional research design and analyses the responses of 426 Indian Generation Z women using structural equation modelling (SEM). The results of this paper reveal that AR marketing significantly influences  purchase intention both directly and indirectly  through sustainable consumption confirming that it partially mediates the relationship. These findings imply that Augmented Reality goes beyond being a gimmicky fun tool. It is a tool of sustainability and can enhance value-oriented shopping behaviour. This paper contributes to the existing literature by integrating embed, embodied and extend framework with situated cognition theory, providing a better understanding on the decision making process of Indian Generation Z women, and also offer practical insights to beauty marketers to leverage AR to create immersive, engaging and sustainable digital shopping experiences.