Investigating retailing customers' adoption of augmented reality apps: integrating the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) and task-technology fit (TTF)

PurposeSince the advent of augmented reality (AR) technology, “Smart Retailing” has become the dominant business model in the retail sector. Therefore, comprehending the dynamics of AR adoption is essential if retailers are to successfully encourage customers to embrace this extremely innovative form of technology. As a result, the authors propose and evaluate a more comprehensive model, consisting of the task-technology fit (TTF) and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTUAT2) models, for use in low-income countries.Design/methodology/approachThe present research uses variance-based partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using WarpPLS.7 to examine 398 responses from Egyptian retail consumers.FindingsTTF, performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), social influence (SI), facilitating condition (FC), hedonic motivation (HM) and customer innovativeness (CI) positively affect shoppers' behavioral intentions (BI) to adopt AR Apps in retail, while perceived risk (PR) negatively affects BI.Originality/valueThe current study is the first to investigate the determinants of shoppers' BI toward AR Apps adoption in the retail context using UTAUT2 and TTF models.