{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,5]],"date-time":"2026-04-05T09:43:38Z","timestamp":1775382218692,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":122,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,2]],"date-time":"2025-07-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1751414400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JTAER"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Understanding consumer behavior in digital environments is increasingly becoming crucial. This study investigates the influence of key metaverse characteristics\u2014sociability, immersiveness, and environmental fidelity\u2014on continuance intention to use the metaverse by examining the mediating role of consumer experience. In study 1, a Delphi method involving 26 experts was employed to establish a consensus on the significance of metaverse characteristics in shaping consumer experience and behavior. In study 2, data from 391 metaverse users were collected via an online survey, and a two-step PLS-SEM approach was used to evaluate the hypothesized relationships. The Delphi study confirmed the theoretical relevance of the identified metaverse characteristics, which were subsequently validated through user data. The results show that consumer experience fully mediates the influence of immersiveness and environmental fidelity on continuance intention and partially mediates between sociability and continuance intention. Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) further established consumer experience as a prerequisite for continued metaverse use, while importance performance analysis (IMPA) identified sociability as the most influential driver of continuance intention. This study advances our theoretical understanding of consumer behavior in virtual settings and offers practical insights for enhancing consumer engagement and continued metaverse use.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jtaer20030166","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,2]],"date-time":"2025-07-02T06:10:26Z","timestamp":1751436626000},"page":"166","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Metaverse Characteristics: The Role of Consumer Experience Shaping Consumer Behavior in the Metaverse"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Meng","family":"Tao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"International Business College, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Dalian 116025, China"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3725-4595","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jashim","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Surrey International Institute, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2939-2613","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ansar","family":"Abbass","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Business Administration, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Dalian 116025, China"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0932-8734","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Khalid","family":"Mehmood","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sheffield University Management School, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 1FL, UK"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"129","DOI":"10.1093\/jcr\/ucad072","article-title":"The Genesis Effect: Digital Goods in the Metaverse","volume":"51","author":"Yang","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. 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