A Meta-Analysis of Online Presence in Metaverse Social Commerce: Examining the Impact of User Interaction and Experience Design on Consumer Decision-Making

Although prior studies acknowledge the influence of online presence in Metaverse social commerce, they often lack clear categorisation and theoretical depth.This study proposes a conceptual framework grounded in Social Presence Theory and Uses and Gratifications Theory to systematically examine how online presence—categorised into User Interaction (Social, Emotional) and Experience Design (Telepresence, Spatial, Physical, Cognitive, and Self)—affects consumer decision-making process(interactivity, user experience, purchase intention, and final decisions). It further investigates the moderating effects of Cultural Context (Individualism Index, Uncertainty Avoidance) and Individual Characteristics (Gender, Generation). A meta-analysis of 52 studies (59 independent effect sizes) using a random-effects model reveals that both User Interaction and Experience Design significantly influence decision-making. Notably, only Individual Characteristics (Gender, Generation) significantly moderated Emotional Presence, Physical Presence, Spatial Presence, and Self Presence. This study links online presence to consumer decision-making and offers recommendations for Metaverse retailers, and consumers to enhance interactions and purchasing.尽管既往研究已证实在线临场感（online presence）对元宇宙（Metaverse）社交电商的影响，但此类研究往往缺乏清晰的分类框架与理论深度。本研究基于社会临场感理论（Social Presence Theory）与使用与满足理论（Uses and Gratifications Theory）构建概念框架，系统探究在线临场感如何作用于消费者决策流程——其中在线临场感被划分为用户交互（User Interaction，含社交、情感两个维度）与体验设计（Experience Design，涵盖远程临场感（Telepresence）、空间临场感（Spatial Presence）、物理临场感（Physical Presence）、认知临场感（Cognitive Presence）与自我临场感（Self Presence））两类，而消费者决策流程涵盖交互性、用户体验（user experience）、购买意向（purchase intention）与最终决策四个环节。本研究还进一步探究了文化情境（Cultural Context，含个人主义指数（Individualism Index）、不确定性规避（Uncertainty Avoidance））与个体特征（Individual Characteristics，包括性别（Gender）、代际（Generation））的调节效应。针对包含52项研究（共计59个独立效应量）的文献，本研究采用随机效应模型（random-effects model）开展元分析（meta-analysis），结果显示用户交互与体验设计均对消费者决策具有显著影响。值得注意的是，仅个体特征（性别、代际）对情感临场感（Emotional Presence）、物理临场感（Physical Presence）、空间临场感（Spatial Presence）与自我临场感（Self Presence）具有显著调节作用。本研究建立了在线临场感与消费者决策之间的关联，并为元宇宙零售商与消费者优化交互体验、提升购买行为提供了实践建议。