Passionate UX design major with strong skills in user research, wireframing, and prototyping. Focused on creating intuitive, user-centered designs to enhance product usability and satisfaction, aiming to contribute to innovative, impactful digital experiences.
Multi-sensory integration to assis in-store VR showroom system for furniture retail
This research was to investigate how immersive virtual reality technology can enhance the customer shopping experience in furniture retail. It also considers the extent to which it can influence user satisfaction, emotional engagement and customers’ decision-making process in in-store virtual reality customer journeys.
1. When tourists shop in furniture retail, can MIVR technology provide a better shopping experience for customers?
2. how can the existing in-store virtual reality showroom system for furniture retail be optimized using multi-sensory integration to improve the customer user experience?
3. how does the Multisensory In-Store Virtual Reality showroom system affect customer satisfaction, emotional engagement and the decision-making process?
Theoretical guidance – Multisensory Integration Theory
Multisensory integration (MSI) is the process by which the brain combines information from different senses to form a coherent perception of the environment. Using MSI in VR environments can enhance immersion, realism and user satisfaction. MSI reduces cognitive load by providing richer sensory input. Combining haptic feedback, especially in virtual retail environments, bridges the gap between the physical and digital experience, allowing users to simulate the real sense of touch, which is critical to making decisions about furniture.
Design thinking and Agile UX methods
Design Thinking is a user-centred approach that solves complex problems through creativity and empathy. It typically involves five stages: Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test.
Agile UX methods are highly influential in modern product development and design. They are based on iterative processes, continuous feedback
Pilot Study
A pilot study was conducted to explore young customers‘ perceptions of VR furniture showrooms. Semi-structured interviews of about 20 minutes with two young customers were conducted to understand the users’ perceptions of the virtual reality showroom in the furniture shopping process and the users‘ explorations and perceptions of the multisensory experience. Insights from this pilot were used to refine the formal interview guide and informed subsequent research phases.
Stakeholder Interviews
Formal semi-structured interviews were conducted with four young shoppers from the UK, using a thematic framework to guide discussions about their offline furniture shopping preferences and perceptions of VR integration. The collected data were then coded and analyzed to uncover recurring themes.
Participant Observations
Observations were conducted during a shopping trip in London to understand the real-life shopping challenges participants face. Participants voiced concerns about the lack of detailed product information and the limited selection in-store. These insights were thematically analyzed alongside the interview data to understand better user pain points.
Thematic Analysis
Theme A: Customers need integrated decision-making information to address gaps in knowledge and uncertainty.
Theme B: VR technology excels in spatial visualization and style matching but lacks realism in texture and environmental interactions.
Theme C: Multi-sensory experiences (especially touch and sound) are crucial for customer decision-making in furniture shopping.
Theme D: Voice guides enhance the shopping experience by providing personalized, real-time information, though improvements in clarity and objectivity are needed.
UX Vision and User Needs Statements
Based on the thematic analysis, the UX vision for the Multi-Sensory In-Store VR Showroom is to create a system that enhances customer decision-making through integrated visual, auditory, and tactile feedback. This aligns with the user need statements, which prioritize access to comprehensive product information, haptic and auditory feedback, and combined voice and spatial visualization.
HMW
Solution Sketches
Prototype A-IVR（visual-only feedback）: A VR interface that integrates spatial visualization with voice-guided product information to help users explore different furniture layouts.
Prototype B-MIVR（ visual-auditory-haptic feedback ）: An enhanced version with added haptic and auditory feedback, allowing users to experience the texture and sound of furniture materials in real-time.
VR prototype for furniture product selection in spatial visualization
Visual feedback process for use in VR shopping
Auditory feedback material for use in VR shopping
tactile feedback synchronized to the hand when selecting a material
A/B testing
Prototype Development using Framer VR and Sketchfab websites
Use Sketchfa and Framer VR to develop a 3D modelsoom
The prototype will be designed using the Meta Quest 2 VR device
Testing scenarios were designed based on typical user tasks, with an emphasis on multisensory feedback to improve user satisfaction and decision-making efficiency.
Mental Effort Scale
Both prototypes generated similar levels of cognitive load. The average mental effort score for Prototype A was slightly higher (3.92) than Prototype B (3.5), but a paired t-test showed no statistically significant difference between them (p = 0.156). This suggests that both prototypes required a similar level of cognitive effort during the decision-making process. However, post-test interviews revealed that user satisfaction was higher for Prototype B, indicating a preference for the multisensory features.
System Satisfaction Scale (SUS)
Prototype B performed better. The average SUS score for Prototype A was 69.4, while Prototype B scored 74.8. A paired t-test showed a statistically significant improvement in usability for Prototype B (p < 0.05, effect size = -0.642). This indicates that the multi-sensory feedback in Prototype B enhanced the overall user experience, making it more engaging and intuitive to use.
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS）
Prototype B also led to more positive emotions and fewer negative emotions. The average Positive Affect score was significantly higher for Prototype B (33.19) than for Prototype A (28), as confirmed by a paired t-test (p < 0.05, effect size = -2.277). In contrast, the Negative Affect scores were slightly lower for Prototype B (11.54) than Prototype A (12.04), and a Wilcoxon signed-rank test confirmed this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.033, effect size = -0.419).
The results of this study highlight the significant impact of multisensory integration on user experience design, especially within immersive virtual reality (VR) environments. By incorporating tactile and auditory feedback, we found that users experienced higher satisfaction, increased emotional engagement, and made more confident decisions.
This suggests that UX designers should prioritize multisensory input when crafting immersive experiences, going beyond just visual elements to incorporate other senses, such as hearing and touch, to create more intuitive and engaging interfaces.
Multisensory feedback can help reduce cognitive load, making complex tasks—like furniture shopping—easier and more enjoyable for users. This study confirms the potential of multisensory immersive VR (MIVR) in commercial settings and offers a roadmap for designers to enhance user experiences through holistic sensory engagement.
