Comparing the effects of immersive and non-immersive real estate experience on behavioral intentions

Nowadays, the web presents real estate sites providing the possibility to use low-cost virtual reality (VR) solutions without sacrificing the high quality of graphic visualization of their contents to attract customers through enhanced digital experiences and increase the probability of selling their products. However, whether immersive VR technologies improve the chances of selling real estate is unclear. This study examines the effects induced by a real estate website that offers the opportunity to evaluate the potential purchase of a property in two ways: by viewing photos of the house (non-immersive conditions) and by taking a virtual tour of the same house using a VR head-mounted display (immersive conditions). Forty participants interested in evaluating the purchase of a new house, randomly assigned to one of the experimental conditions, participated in the experiment. During the real estate experience, electroencephalography (EEG) and skin conductance (SC) were recorded to collect biological data about the emotional effects raised by each condition. After the study, psychological self-reported questionnaires were collected measuring: emotions, presence, user experience (UX), and a three-item ad hoc scale exploring behavioral intentions (e.g., the perceived pleasantness of the house, the willingness to visit the house, and the purchase intention). Results show that immersive navigation is associated with more positive emotions (EEG), more intense physiological arousal (SC), higher scores on the presence questionnaire, and higher scores on the UX questionnaire compared to the non-immersive one. The psychological scales measuring emotions did not yield significant results. No significant difference in the three-item ad-hoc self-questionnaire was found, except for the item examining willingness to visit the real house building. Implications are also discussed.