Come Closer, but Not Too Close: How Virtual Influencers Can Facilitate or Restrict Brand Experiences in the Metaverse

Abstract

More and more brands adopt virtual influencers in the metaverse. Evidence from business practice suggests that coming closer to consumers through deploying virtual influencers can backfire, putting increased pressure on brand managers to understand their potential advantages and disadvantages. This study aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of how virtual influencers affect brand experiences in the metaverse. Based on 15 semi-structured interviews we introduce the concept of a virtual influencer’s social proximity capturing its ability to enter a user’s personal space in virtual environments. We identify facilitating and restricting technological factors of a virtual influencer and argue that their impact on brand experiences operates via altering social proximity. We contribute to theory by postulating social proximity to provide entry points for future research and guide the design of experience-centric virtual influencers.