I Can See Myself Doing That! Using the Sims Virtual Environment to Enable Consumers to Anticipate Upcoming Consumption Experiences

Consumers construct mental simulations, or consumption visions, to help them anticipate upcoming consumption experiences. This study further develops the assessment and measurement of the concept of consumption visions. First, we report previous research using traditional, experimental methods to understand consumption vision construction. Second, we explore the utility of the Sims interactive environment as a research tool for examining consumption visions. The Sims environment is a virtual world that allows individuals to create virtual identities and engage in a variety of games, activities, and consumption experiences. Among other things, Sims allows consumer researchers to measure a consumer's online selection of individual products and assortments of products. Finally, we discuss applications of the Sims methodology to cross-cultural research.