Abstract: The article evaluates the influence of the Augmented Reality (AR) on the brand trust, consumer confidence, and purchase intention in online luxury jewellery in the US. The study challenges the simplistic assumption that AR technologies automatically reduce purchase risk and improve decision-making, demonstrating that their effectiveness operates through trust and emotional mechanisms. The mixed-methods design was based on descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regression to compare two brand case studies (Tiffany and Co. and Kendra Scott) and a quantitative survey (N = 264). Three of five respondents felt they had greater purchasing confidence following an AR try-on, and half had minimal purchasing opportunities without an AR try-on. Brand Trust and Purchase Intent were regressed on Ease of Use and Emotional Engagement. Bootstrapped mediation demonstrated that brand trust mediates to a small degree ease of use and purchase intention, but not emotion engagement. These results indicate that AR has the potential to enhance consumer trust and emotional involvement to online jewellery shopping. The researchers discovered that emotionally involving high-fidelity AR has the potential to increase customer trust, reduce refunds, and increase revenue.

Keywords: Augmented Reality, Brand Trust, Purchase Intent, Luxury Jewelry, E-Commerce

Pages: 1317-1329