CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking - Virtual Consumerism Special Issue

Ushered in by Amazon and fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual consumerism (VC) is more than simply the act of buying products on the Internet. The term encompasses entire economies and the study of each facet of these intricate new systems. Modern technologies, buoyed by current world conditions and trends, have enabled the creation of a seemingly inexhaustible parade of consumer products and services, forming new markets, and effectively blurring the boundary between “virtual” and “real” consumerism.

Special consideration will be given to articles that go beyond documenting a current state of affairs in VC to those taking a data-driven approach to understanding virtual consumerism in a rapidly changing digital environment. 

We are seeking high-quality original empirical articles and review articles on the following topics (though other topics will be considered):

• Virtual Consumerism as an evolving and essential topic 
• Using virtual reality (VR)/mixed reality (MR)/extended reality/augmented reality (AR) in online purchasing
• Current state of online shopping (in the post-pandemic/peri-pandemic environment of 2021) 
• Consumerism in online games
• Virtual consumer health and supportive technologies
• Using data to study the needs, motives, and buying behaviors of consumers
• The influence of online marketing tools on customers' decision-making processes and choices
• New theoretical perspectives that enable getting ahead of the data given a rapidly changing VC environment.