Visual fidelity in the metaverse matters for memory performance

The metaverse offers unlimited opportunities for interaction, training, business and pleasure across industries. While research is still in its infancy, the concept has been around for more than a decade, experiencing vast technological innovation in recent years. Headsets to experience metaverses via virtual reality (VR) provide increasing visual fidelity, which can alter the metaverse experience for the individual. Visual fidelity refers to the degree to which visual features in the metaverse imitate visual features in the equivalent real-world setting. We use a VR supermarket setting to study consumers' memory processes, dependent on the visual fidelity of the headset as well as task demands. Based on a 2 × 2 between-subjects design, we find that generally a higher visual fidelity improves explicit memory of features in the visual scene. Only for the case of a more abstract task, lower visual fidelity improves implicit memory. Additionally, higher explicit memory is associated with lower spending. We attribute these findings to the level of detail needed to perform the task adequately. We provide recommendations for designing metaverse experiences and research practice. We contribute to the literature on information processing by demonstrating the effect of visual fidelity on memory performance, depending on task demands.