Augmenting Experience: Engaging Disabled Consumers through Reality Tech

Research on consumer engagement tends to focus upon environments that are created for non-diverse consumers (Brodie et al, 2011), underplaying the opportunity to create more inclusive places and spaces. Whilst technology may be seen as a potential means of removing barriers for atypical consumers (Foley & Ferri, 2012), there is limited evidence to explain how technology is understood and used by such consumers and, therefore, a need for this insight to be positioned more centrally within the academic discourse (Arsel, Crocket and Scott, 2022). To facilitate more inclusive and, therefore, sustainable offerings, marketers would benefit from understanding how consumer diversity moderates engagement with, and uptake of technology, as a core or enhanced component of their offerings.

Within diverse populations, disabled consumers represent a significantly challenged segment, facing significant physical, social and psychological barriers to engagement (Gillovic and McIntosh, 2020). Supporting engagement and improving experience represents a real challenge but, also, a significant opportunity for marketers (Pagán, 2015), especially where there is the potential to use novel technologies as part of the offering.

This research presents evidence of disabled and non-disabled consumers’ perceptions of ‘Reality Technology’ (namely, Virtual Reality - VR) as a vehicle to enhance their engagement with tourism contexts. A mixed method, two-phase design was applied to the research. First, an independent samples design enabled a survey of 230 respondents via a semi-structured questionnaire before selected members of that cohort were subsequently interviewed in more depth. Disability was self-identified, and mobility was employed as an additional identifying measure.

The research employed unidimensional scales that measured Visitor Engagement (5 items, measuring individuals’ propensity to engage with attractions as a visitor); Value of Tourism Technology (3 items, measuring perceived value of technology within tourism experiences); Preference for Technological Experience (3 items, measuring individuals’ preference for inclusion of smart technologies within the tourist experience); Virtual Reality Adoption (10 items, measuring individuals’ propensity to adopt VR within their tourism experiences). A range of socio-demographic information was also collected.

Whilst the research is primarily exploratory, it connects established concepts that support the design of marketing services. Key findings include a willingness for disabled consumers, especially those affected by mobility issues, to adopt Virtual Reality technology within their tourism experiences in order to benefit from a wider and more engaging tourist experience. Further, there is evidence of positive associations between consumers’ engagement, and their propensity to be engaged by adopting Virtual Reality technology.

The research offers momentum to a re-conceptualisation of the typical consumer and highlights the need for a more inclusive understanding of the nature and role of technology within marketing design. Practitioners may benefit from this research by better understanding the value of novel technologies, such as VR/AR/MR/XR, in improving consumers’ engagement. In particular, the adoption of Reality Technologies could improve disabled consumers’ marketing experiences. Future research would benefit from engaging with disabled and other diverse groups across a range of contexts and experiences.