Today, First Planet Company and Florida State University announced the results of a study on virtual buying habits. First Planet Company is the publisher and developer of one of the largest real-cash economy MMORPGs. The company partnered with Florida State University and the Stockholm School of Business to find some answers about the growing virtual goods market.
The study was conducted during the Miss Calypso beauty pageant on Planet Calypso. Planet Calypso operates like Second Life, providing virtual currency for real money. Calypso was developed by First Planet Company using CryTek’s CryENGINE 2 with enhanced physics capabilities.
During the Calypso beauty pageant, results showed that the more immersed a player was in the environment, the more likely that player was to purchase a virtual product they saw. The study showed that virtual worlds have a high level of immersion or “Flow” with the level achieved in the study being higher than studies based on traditional advertising mediums.
Flow is defined as “the optimal mental state a participant has during an activity.” In social-oriented events, players may becomes more self-conscious of their appearance. This higher state of self-consciousness resulted in higher levels of Flow. This outcome is the opposite of what was previously theorized about Flow. Higher Flow leads to a greater purchase intention within virtual worlds.
"This study was successful in demonstrating that an individual's perceptions of an activity lead to a mental state that creates positive brand attitudes and subsequent purchase intentions. More specifically, virtual worlds create opportunities for participants to lose track of time in enjoyable brand related activities," said Rob Hooker, recent doctoral graduate from the College of Business at Florida State University. "This creates a mental state which contributes to a participant's attitude about a brand. Ultimately, this strongly influences the participant's intention to purchase a product from that brand. 63% of participants from this study indicated that they would purchase Calypso clothing following the activity."
The study will help researchers develop a clearer understanding of cognitive states and consumer behavior, in addition to helping companies find profitability in a virtual space.
