A new reality: Fan perceptions of augmented reality readiness in sport marketing

Sport marketers have begun to adopt augmented reality (AR) in an effort to enhance the fan experience. Hence, there is a need to investigate fan perspectives of this new marketing tool. The current study investigated fans' perceptions AR activations within a sport setting. Findings indicated the visual appeal of AR is very influential on fans' intention to use an activation or provide positive word of mouth. While previous research in sport indicated the perceived ease of use of a technology to significantly influence consumers' attitudes toward a technology (Kim and Chiu, 2019), the current study utilized smartphones as the vehicle to provide the AR and ease of use was not found to be significant. Hence, marketers should note that smartphone based AR activations will likely be deemed relatively easy to use as most people are intimately familiar with their phone and there should be a significant focus on ensuring the AR is visually appealing.