Beyond immersion: how metaverse customer experience shapes users’ well-being perceptions and sustained engagement

Purpose This research aims to investigate how metaverse customer experience (MVCX) influences perceived metaverse-enabled well-being and how this shapes sustained metaverse usage intentions. Design/methodology/approach This research uses a multi-study design comprising three empirical studies. Study 1a qualitatively explores how metaverse engagement contributes to users’ perceived metaverse-enabled well-being and, informed by the literature review, complements the construct’s operationalisation. Study 1 b quantitatively refines the construct’s measurement. Studies 2 and 3 empirically validate the construct and test the proposed relationships using structural equation modelling. Findings The results show that improvements in MVCX are initially associated with modest gains in perceived metaverse-enabled well-being and metaverse usage intentions; however, once MVCX surpasses a critical threshold, both well-being and usage intentions increase at an accelerating rate, indicating nonlinear effects. Perceived metaverse-enabled well-being mediates the relationship between MVCX and usage intentions and functions as a necessary condition for achieving high levels of sustained engagement. These nonlinear and mediated effects are significantly stronger for users with more than 1 year of metaverse use. Practical implications The findings show that achieving high metaverse usage intentions requires both a strong MVCX and clearly perceived life-domain benefits, particularly at higher levels of engagement. Managers should therefore prioritise designing immersive platforms that meaningfully enhance users’ social, educational, leisure and psychological well-being to support sustained participation. Originality/value This research operationalises a novel construct to assess perceived metaverse-enabled well-being, extending well-being literature into immersive digital contexts. It advances theory by demonstrating the mediating role of well-being in the MVCX–usage intention relationship, providing first empirical insights into nonlinear dynamics among MVCX, perceived metaverse-enabled well-being and engagement outcomes, and identifying the conditions under which these effects intensify.