EFFECT OF AUGMENTED REALITY PRODUCT VISUALIZATION ON CONSUMER PURCHASE INTENTION IN BENIN CITY, EDO STATE NIGERIA: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PERCEIVED PRODUCT DIAGNOSTICITY

Abstract

Augmented reality (AR) product visualization is increasingly promoted as a means of enriching online shopping, yet most researches originates in high-income markets, and the cognitive mechanism through which AR shapes purchase intention remains underspecified, particularly in African contexts. This study examined the effect of AR product visualization on consumer purchase intention in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, and tested the mediating role of perceived product diagnosticity. Grounded in the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework, a quantitative, cross-sectional, stimulus-based survey was administered to 400 adult online consumers, each of whom interacted with a standardized AR product visualization demonstration before responding. Constructs were measured with validated multi-item scales, and the data were analysed using regression based path analysis with bootstrapped mediation (5,000 resamples). The measures were reliable and valid (Cronbach's α = 0.830–0.847; composite reliability = 0.879–0.891; AVE = 0.548–0.663), and discriminant validity was confirmed. AR product visualization significantly increased both perceived product diagnosticity (β = 0.596, p < 0.001) and purchase intention (β = 0.411, p < 0.001). The indirect effect through perceived product diagnosticity was significant (β = 0.276; 95% bootstrap CI (0.210, 0.347), while the direct effect remained significant (β = 0.135, p = 0.010), indicating partial mediation in which diagnosticity accounted for approximately 67% of AR's total effect on purchase intention. The findings extend the S–O–R account of AR marketing to a lower-adoption Nigerian market and identify perceived product diagnosticity as a key mechanism, offering retailers practical guidance to design AR experiences that improve genuine product evaluability rather than novelty alone.