Bridging e-commerce and the metaverse: A flow theory approach to consumer behavior

Background The metaverse represents a fully immersive virtual environment where digital interactions closely replicate real-world experiences. Although the metaverse has been explored across various sectors, there remains limited academic attention to its application in retail, particularly in understanding consumer perceptions and adoption mechanisms. Objective This study aims to develop and validate a comprehensive model, grounded in Flow Theory, to identify the key factors influencing consumer adoption of metaverse-based retailing (meta-commerce). Methods Data were collected from Jordanian consumers through a structured survey. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the relationships among interactivity, vividness, perceived immersion, perceived telepresence, perceived product diagnosticity, enjoyment, perceived usefulness, and adoption intention. Results Findings indicate that interactivity and vividness significantly enhance perceived immersion. Perceived immersion, in turn, positively affects both perceived telepresence and perceived product diagnosticity. Perceived telepresence increases enjoyment, while perceived product diagnosticity strengthens perceived usefulness. Both enjoyment and usefulness serve as strong predictors of consumers’ intentions to adopt meta-commerce. Conclusion The study extends Flow Theory to the context of meta-commerce, demonstrating that both hedonic (enjoyment) and utilitarian (usefulness) factors shape consumers’ adoption intentions. The results provide practical insights for retailers designing engaging virtual shopping environments and establish a basis for future cross-cultural investigations into metaverse retail adoption.