Prelims

Half Title Page

Augmenting Retail Reality, Part A

Title Page

Augmenting Retail Reality, Part A

Blockchain, AR, VR, and the Internet of Things

EDITED BY

BALRAJ VERMA

Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India

AMIT MITTAL

Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India

MURALI RAMAN

Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Malaysia

AND

Birud Sindhav

University of Nebraska Omaha, USA

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

First edition 2025

Editorial matter and selection © 2025 Balraj Verma, Amit Mittal, Murali Raman, and Birud Sindhav.

Individual chapters © 2025 The authors.

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ISBN: 978-1-83608-635-2 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83608-634-5 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83608-636-9 (Epub)

Contents

About the Editors

Balraj Verma is currently serving as an Associate Professor at the Doctoral Research Centre of Chitkara Business School, affiliated with Chitkara University, Rajpura, Punjab, India. He completed his PhD from Jaypee University of Information Technology, Waknaghat, and holds a master’s degree in Business Administration, bringing with him over 16 years of combined academic and corporate experience. His teaching portfolio includes courses such as marketing management, strategic management, business statistics, and research methodology. He has successfully supervised three scholars to PhD completion under his guidance, showcasing his proficiency in academic mentorship. His research contributions are substantial, with numerous publications in respected journals indexed in SCI, ABDC, and Scopus. Additionally, he has authored and edited books and contributed chapters to leading international publishers. He is actively involved in organising international conferences and serves as a resource person for faculty development programmes, management development programmes, and workshops focussed on research methodologies. As a peer reviewer for esteemed journals including the Journal of Knowledge Economy (Springer), Economic Change and Restructuring (Springer), Electronic Commerce Research (Springer), International Journal of Information Management Data Insights (Elsevier), and SN Computer Science (Springer), he contributes significantly to maintaining the standards of academic scholarship in his field. His research interests span e-commerce, retail management, technology adoption, aggregator platforms models, and human–computer interaction, etc.

Amit Mittal is a Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research Programmes), Professor of Management, Doctoral Research Centre, Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India, and has over two decades of domestic and international experience in academic leadership, teaching, research, consulting, training, and mentorship. At Chitkara University, his current mandate is to manage and coordinate the PhD programmes, research publications, and international/domestic research collaborations. Seventeen scholars have been awarded PhD degrees under his guidance, and he has published over 120 Scopus-/SSCI-indexed papers with a number of these included in the ABDC/ABS journal list. He was the recipient of the Careers360 ‘Outstanding Faculty Researcher Award’ 2023, ‘Megastar Award’ Chitkara Excellence Awards 2023/2024, the Chitkara University Excellence Award 2023 (Publications in Business School Category), and in 2021 (February) for highest cited author and publications with highest H-index (Business School Category). He is an active resource person for faculty development programmes, management development programmes, and corporate trainings. He is a member of the thesis review board of a number of universities. He presently reviews for reputable journals such as Technological Forecasting and Social Change (Elsevier), Public Health (Elsevier) Benchmarking (Emerald), Technology Analysis and Strategic Management (Taylor and Francis), International Journal of Consumer Studies (Wiley), Journal of Public Affairs (Wiley), Routledge Studies in Global Student Mobility, International Journal of Emerging Markets (Emerald), Sustainability (MDPI), Management Decision (Emerald), IIM KSMR (Sage), etc. He serves on the editorial boards of Frontiers in Psychology (SSCI/Scopus indexed), Open Psychology Journal (Scopus indexed), Proceedings on Engineering Sciences (Scopus indexed), and Research on Enterprise in Modern Economy (Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland). He is currently guest editing a special issue in International Journal of Information and Management Data Insights (Elsevier). He also serves on the executive committee of Indian Business School Advisory Council of ETS Global, USA. He is presently on the Jury of the QS Reimagine Education Awards, Abu Dhabi, 2023. He is a Research Fellow at INTI International University, Malaysia, Visiting Professor at Pathumthani University, Thailand, and Adjunct Faculty, IMSAR – MD University, India.

Murali Raman, Professor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development and Strategy), Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Malaysia, is both a Rhodes Scholar and Fulbright Fellow. His academic credentials include a PhD from SISAT, Claremont, USA; MBA (Imperial College, London); MSc Human Resources (London School of Economics, UK). He was affiliated to Stanford’s Technology Venture Programme as a Faculty Fellow. He has published more than 120 papers in international journals, conferences, and book chapters, in management information system-related areas. He is currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Birud Sindhav is a Professor of Marketing at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He has a PhD with a marketing focus from the University of Oklahoma, Norman. His research interests focus on areas of B-to-B relationships, organisational justice, green advertising, social media, grassroots entrepreneurship in emerging economies, and sales function in startups. His work has been published in Journal of Retailing, Journal of International Marketing, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Journal of Marketing Channels, and other outlets. He is on the editorial review boards of the European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, and Journal of Inter-organizational Relationships. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Collaboration Science at his university. He teaches or has taught digital marketing, social media marketing, marketing in a high technology environment, principles of marketing, marketing research, and doing business in China in the MBA and undergraduate programmes. He has also taught in Finland, Austria, Egypt, and India. He is a recipient of the UNO Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award among other awards. He has also provided service and consultation within and outside of the university. Prior to his academic career, he was a marketing executive with Amul, the largest food organisation in India.

About the Contributors

Adeline Sneha J. is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Computing, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Technology Park Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She received her PhD from the Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India. Her research spans several areas of Internet of Things data analytics and machine learning, including precision agriculture, signal processing, image processing, data science, and control engineering. She has delivered several invited or plenary lectures at conferences throughout the world. She has published more than 30 papers in various national/international journals. She has received several important recognitions for her research career. She has also been awarded ‘Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Award for Innovative Research’ awarded by the Society for Engineering Education Enrichment, 2021. She received ‘Women Leadership Award 2022’ from GlantorX.

Siti Intan Nurdiana Wong Abdullah is a Senior Lecturer at the Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, UK. She completed her PhD degree from Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2020. Her areas of research include sustainable tourism, green consumption behaviour, consumer attitudes, and sustainable consumerism. She is a dedicated educator and researcher with more than 15 years of teaching experience and 5 years of practical industry experience. As part of her current role, she is a member of the School’s Marketing and Consumer Studies Research Group and a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and Certified Management and Business Educator. She writes and publishes articles, participates in conferences, serves as a reviewer, and editorial member, and has won numerous research grants. She has been actively involved in student recruitment, marketing, international partnerships, curriculum design, mentoring students in work-based learning and event-based learning projects, and consultancy work for small- and medium-sized enterprises. She is passionate about socio-environmental projects and has worked with several non-governmental organisations.

Meenal Arora is a Visiting Faculty Member at Chitkara University, Rajpura, Punjab, with a background in management. She has a PhD, holding UGC NET and MBA qualifications from ICFAI University, Dehradun. With over three years of industrial experience and four years in teaching, she imparts business management education to postgraduates and undergraduates. She has actively participated in national and international conferences and workshops, collaborating with prestigious institutions such as IIM Bodh Gaya and the University of Bahrain. She serves as a reviewer for international journals, including Emerald Publishing and Scopus-indexed FIIB Business Review. Awarded 1st position for the best research paper at the International E-Conference in Advances in Business and Management, she has published two research papers in Scopus-indexed conference proceedings.

Wilfred Blessing was awarded a PhD in Information and Communication Engineering from Anna University, India. He holds 16 years of teaching experience both in Oman and India. He is working on startup awareness for students and government-funded projects. He has won several prizes in national level student projects in Oman. He is skilled in software computing, object-oriented programming, software engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, multimedia, information systems, oracle, and so forth. He is interested in industrial collaborations, research activities, research projects, research collaboration with students, professional bodies, authoring articles, content writing, digital marketing research, organising conferences and symposiums, initiating international technical meetups and programming competitions, presenting technical webinars, conducting personality and motivational programme for young students, soft skills training, student counselling, course and curriculum development, content creation, multimedia development, academic committees (quality assurance unit, student development committee, research and consultancy committee, projects committee), editing academic magazines/newsletters (https://www.sct.edu.om/home/index.php/publications), online tools and technologies, and leadership. He has presented keynote addresses and guest lectures to more than 30 universities in Oman and India.

Mohammad Falahat is a Professor at the School of Marketing and Management, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Malaysia. Previously, he was Chairperson of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Sustainability and Centre for Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility in Business at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman for 10 years. He received a certificate award for ‘Faculty Development in International Entrepreneurship Program’ from the University of Colorado Denver, USA, and he is a certified trainer, endorsed by Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad, Malaysia. He has experience in conducting training for postgraduate students, academic staff, and the general public on data analytics, partial least squares structural equation modelling, research methodology, and entrepreneurship. He has secured Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) and Trans-disciplinary Research Grant Scheme (TRGS) from the Ministry of Higher Education, and research projects from Private Pension Administrator Malaysia, MASA Policy Development Programme, MCA Belt and Road Centre, and Malaysia Productivity Corporation, to name a few.

Ridhima Goel is a distinguished research scholar at the Institute of Management Studies and Research, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, India. She brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective to her research with a dual background in an MBA and an MA in English from the same institution. She has been acknowledged with the Second Best Paper Award in a national seminar at Central University Himachal and has presented her work at national and international conferences. She reviews international journals, including Emerald Publishing and Scopus Indexed, Global Knowledge Memory and Communication. Her academic prowess is exemplified by her University Research Fellowship, and she is imparting knowledge as a teacher, instructing postgraduate students in open elective subjects like Fundamentals of Management and Fundamentals of Marketing.

Divya Goswami is an academic and researcher currently serving as a Research Scholar at Chitkara University, Rajpura, Punjab. She holds a master’s degree in Commerce and has cleared the national eligibility test in commerce. With a teaching experience spanning over 10.5 years, she has been instrumental in shaping the minds of students of S.A. Jain College, Ambala City. Her teaching portfolio includes both postgraduate and graduate classes, where she has impaired knowledge and guidance to aspiring learners.

Meenu Gupta, Associate Professor, MMDU, Mullana, India. She has published more than 30 national and international papers in refereed and Scopus journals. Four research projects have been applied to different organisations like ICMR, DST, CSR, and others. She has major experiences in the field of accreditation of NBA, NAAC, NIRF, AICTE & UGC. Her patents have been published and applied in the field of Business Management. She is ex. member of many decisional bodies like BOS, RAC, Research Committee, and PhD coordinator. Presently, she is member of Confederation of Indian Industry, Internal Complaint Committee, Treasurer of Maharaja Agrasen Chair, and Associate NCC Officer. She has conducted more than 200 activities for the national unit. She has delivered many sessions on SPSS and Research Methodology in different faculty development programmes (FDPs) and workshops within and outside the university. Her recent session on SPSS delivered in the ICSSR workshop was sponsored by the Ministry of Education of India in December 2023. More than seven FDPs of five days conducted by NITTR have been attended. Many workshops and seminars have been organised for the international business through the Director General of Foreign Trade, Federation of Indian Export Organisation and MSME.

Bernard Lim Jit Heng is a Lecturer at the Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology. He is currently taking his PhD study at Universiti Putra Malaysia. His areas of research include financial literacy, financial well-being, and personal finance. He teaches corporate finance, financial market analysis, current issues in finance, and financial management.

Poornima Jirli is a seasoned IT professional with over 15 years of experience in the industry and holds a Doctorate of Business Administration in Strategic Innovation. She has spent her career focussed on driving technological advancements and strategic initiatives within various organisations.

John Paul Raj V. is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean at Christ University, Banneghatta Road Campus. He has done his PhD in Management from Bharathiar University and an MBA in Human Resources Management. He has over 18 years of experience both in teaching and research. He is basically a motivational trainer and an Organizational Development (OD) consultant. He has conducted over 500 training programmes for corporates as well as educational institutions on team building, interpersonal communication, time management and goal setting, attitude building, leadership retreat, motivation, personality development, kinesics, interview skills, learns to win, group discussion, building professional self, supervisory development programme, workmen development programme, and psychometric test. Some of the well-known clients he had worked with are Nokia, Fenner, Titan, Naga Ltd, Periyar University, and Jegannath Textile. He has published several research papers in Scopus-indexed journals and presented research papers at international conferences.

Isha Kalra, Research Scholar, MMDU, Mullana, India, and Assistant Professor in School of Commerce & Business Management at Geeta University, Panipat, with 13 years of experience in teaching and research, having expertise in the field of marketing. She has published research papers in indexed journals and attended many international and national conferences and faculty development programmes by IIMs and the Institute of National Repute. She has received the Best Teacher Award for the years 2022 and 2023. She has occupied various key positions in her academic career. Currently, she is working as Coordinator BCom. She is an active member of the Ranking Committee of the institution. She has major experiences in the field of accreditation of NAAC, AICTE, UGC. She is a member of many decisional bodies like Academic Council and Board of Studies in Faculty of Commerce and Management at Geeta University, Panipat. She has delivered 80+ motivational sessions and workshops within and outside the University for Faculty and Students.

Ritu Kumari, Research Scholar, Quantum University, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. The author published a book chapter titled ‘Digital Financial Literacy in India’ in the book named Empowering Financial Literacy: Navigating Education for Wealth: Vol. 1 in November 2023, and the book chapter titled ‘Green Frontier: An Introduction to Green Entrepreneurship’ in the book Paradigm Shift Towards Sustainable Business and Management Practices in December 2023.

Foong Li Law is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Computing, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Malaysia. She obtained her PhD in Computer Science with a specialisation in Software Engineering and Requirements Engineering from the University of Malaya in 2019. She is registered as a Professional Technologist with the Malaysia Board of Technologist. Her research interests span a wide range of areas including empirical software engineering, nursing education with a focus on web and mobile development, data analytics, computer vision, and machine learning. Her diverse expertise and interdisciplinary approach contribute to her ability to conduct innovative research and provide valuable insights in these areas.

Wing Son Loh is currently pursuing a part-time PhD (Science) programme at the Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES) at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR). He holds a Master’s degree in Mathematics and an honours degree in Actuarial Science. Additionally, he is also serving as a Lecturer at the Department of Mathematical and Actuarial Sciences for the undergraduate programmes under the LKC FES. Prior to joining UTAR as a Lecturer, he worked as a Full-time Research Assistant. He has successfully secured a project funding from the UTAR Research Fund 2023 Cycle 1 and has published several journal papers as well as conference proceedings.

Yin Xia Loh is an accomplished individual with a strong background in technology management. Having obtained a relevant master’s degree in 2022, she currently holds the position of a Lecturer at Southern University College. With a passion for teaching, she actively imparts knowledge to students through IT-related courses, aiming to shape the next generation of talents in the field. With expertise in financial technology and a commitment to fostering growth, she serves as an influential figure in the realm of academia and technological innovation.

Shobana Manigandan is a dedicated scholar with a passion for information technology (IT) and computer science. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Information Technology with First Class Honours, showcasing her commitment to academic excellence. Currently, she is pursuing her Master of Science in Computer Science, embarking on the first year of her postgraduate studies. Her academic journey is marked by a strong foundation in IT and a keen interest in advancing her knowledge and skills in computer science. Her enthusiasm for learning and research is evident in her active participation in academic activities and her continuous pursuit of knowledge.

Ahmad Najmi Amerhaider Nuar is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Computing, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Since joining the academic staff in 2023, he has made significant contributions to the university, notably serving as the Head of Marketing and Industry Linkage. His research areas are broad and interdisciplinary, focussing on design science research, computational thinking, intelligent systems, and their practical applications within small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and work system theory. His work aims to bridge the gap between theoretical research and practical implementation, enhancing SME competitiveness and efficiency through innovative technology solutions. Additionally, his interest in work system theory explores the dynamics of work systems within organisations, aiming to improve their effectiveness through better design and alignment of technological and human resources (HR). In recognition of his substantial contributions, he received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award at the MDEC PDTI Outstanding Awards 2023.

Sathish Pachiyappan is currently serving as Assistant Professor at Christ (Deemed to be University), Bannerghatta Road Campus, Bengaluru. He has done his Doctoral degree from VIT (Deemed to be University), Vellore. He specialised in Finance and Accounting, doing his research in the same area. He has completed MBA from Anna University and BCom from SRM University, Chennai. Currently, as a part of his research work, he has published articles in peer-reviewed journals which includes Scopus-indexed journals, Web of Science-indexed journals, Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC)-listed journals, and EBSCO host journals. Also, he has published book chapters in Elsevier, Emerald, Springer, and IGI Global. He is well versed in handling Python, STATCRAFT, E-Views (Econometrics), and SPSS for financial data analysis in research areas. He is gold medallist and earned first rank in BCom at SRM University, Chennai, and also earned class topper in MBA and 39th rank holder in Anna University.

Nara Srujana Rani, a graduate of BBA Finance and International Business from Christ University, specialised in international business. She graduated in 2023 and dived into a full-time role in sales at an EdTech company and then shifted to a marketing internship at an HR application-based company. With a keen interest in exploring business dynamics, consumer behaviour, digital marketing, and market research, she is eager to delve deeper into these areas and make meaningful contributions to the business world.

S. Brilly Sangeetha has 19 years of experience in teaching and 4 years in research. Her area of research is networks, blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and data science. She has completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Blockchain Technology. She is a successful professional and has trust in student-centred learning with a lot of activities to build them in the right way for the development of the interpersonal skills. She is the editor and reviewer of many international journals including Springer and shared her valuable feedback to the authors. She has published more than 30 international journals. Her passion for writing made her to write technical books and publish many Indian and Australian patents. She also has copyrights to her credit. She is an active member of ISTE (The Indian Society For Technical Education), IEEE, CSI (Computer Society of India), and IE (The Institution of Engineers). She is also a CISCO-certified network associate and has organised many seminars, workshops, and conferences. She has been awarded with ‘Best Emerging Principal of the year 2020-21’ by Xel Research and ‘Best Young Principal of the Year 2020-21’ from National Education Brilliance awards. She has held many positions like advisory committee member, technical committee member, and resource person for national, international conferences, workshops, and seminars and shared her valuable insights through her vast experience.

Sasithradevi A., PhD, is currently working as Associate Professor in Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. She completed her ME in Communication System from Anna University and completed her PhD in the area of video retrieval from Anna University. She published many papers in reputed journals and conferences. Her research interests include image and video analysis, pattern recognition, machine, and deep learning.

Choon Sen Seah obtained his Doctorate in Information Technology from Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia and has a keen interest in technology. His research/technical interest and experience encompass data science, digital entrepreneurship, financial technology, precision farming, and information systems. In terms of research output, he has secured around RM550,000 worth of research grants and consultation projects as principal investigator. He has achieved significant accomplishments in his field, including publishing over 20 indexed articles and books, receiving multiple awards, and supervised more than 10 teams in winning awards in international innovation competitions.

Anuja Shukla is working as Associate Professor at Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida. She has more than 12 years of teaching experience with over 24 paper publications. Her research articles have been published in International Journal of Information Management (A*), Psychology and Marketing (A), VISION (C), and FIIB (ABS 1). She has also won best research paper awards at FMS, Symbiosis, and Amity. Her areas of research interest include eWOM, consumer behaviour, m-commerce, AR/VR, and emerging technologies.

Vinay Pal Singh, Senior Assistant Professor, Quantum University, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. The author published a chapter titled ‘Big-Data Analytics: A New Paradigm Shift in Micro Finance Industry’ in the book Advances in Data Science and Analytics: Concepts and Paradigms in October 2022, and the book chapter titled ‘Industry 4.0: Driving the Digital Transformation in Banking Sector’ in the book named Advances in Industry 4.0: Concepts and Applications in June 2022. The author published a chapter in the book named Sustainable Approaches to Poverty Alleviation: Revisiting the Dimensions of Poverty in September 2023.

Jagdeep Singla is presently employed as a faculty at the Institute of Management Studies and Research, Maharshi Dayanand University, India. He had also served as a Professor at HPKV Business School, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala. After completing his postgraduation, he has more than 28 years of teaching and industry experience. During his academic career, he has authored several books in different areas such as operations management, operations and supply chain management, brand management, etc., which are formulated as a part of the course curriculum of Maharshi Dayanand University. He has plenty of research papers/articles to his credit, published in national and international journals of repute. He has supervised 11 PhDs. His areas of specialisation are production and operations management, supply chain management, marketing management, HR management, and brand management.

Thavamalini Sivasamy works at the School of Computing, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Malaysia. She does research in Software Engineering and eLearning tools. She is a successful professional and has trust in student-centred learning with a lot of activities to build them in the right way for the development of the interpersonal skills. She is working on interpersonal skill development for students and enabling effective communication, teamwork, empathy, and building positive attitudes among the students.

Chin Ike Tan is a registered Professional Technologist and an appointed examinations and qualifications committee member for Malaysian Board of Technologist. He is also the Founding Chairman for the Game Development Council of Malaysia. He is currently an Associate Professor and the Head of School at the School of Computing, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Malaysia. He earned his MSc in Computing from the University of Teesside, UK, and his PhD in Game-Based Learning from Sultan Idris Education University. His research spans various areas of game development including user experience, game mechanics, gamified systems, and game-based learning.

Phuah Kit Teng is currently working as an Associate Professor at Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology. She is an experienced academician and researcher with strong skills in research and marketing. Her career goal is to use her skills and knowledge in a leadership position that allows her to be innovative in all aspects. Her research scope is mainly focussed on food-related marketing studies which relate to consumer behaviour. Her areas of study encompass entomophagy, pet food, genetically modified food, Halal-labelled food, Halal poultry, green food, natural functional food, and synthetic functional food. She has authored many articles in various journals and has been the principal researcher and co-researcher of multiple research grants from various institutions. She committed to ongoing professional development and research to ensure innovation in business and marketing.

Saravanan Vellaiyan currently holds the position of Assistant Professor at the School of Business and Management, Christ Deemed to be University, Bengaluru. His expertise lies in the field of Accounting Finance, and he is recognised as a highly qualified academician. He has qualified in UGC-SET professional and completed postgraduate degrees in Management (MBA), and MPhil, and a PhD in Finance from Bharathiar University. His specialised focus within teaching revolves around taxation, encompassing both direct tax and indirect tax. Beyond academia, he actively engages in the industry–academia interface, showcasing his commitment to bridging the gap between theory and practice. His scholarly achievements are evident through his publications in various Scopus-indexed journals, reflecting his dedication to advancing research in his domain. Additionally, he has presented a total of 15 research papers at both international- and national-level conferences, further establishing his prominence in the academic and research community.

Ow Mun Waei is an Assistant Professor at Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TARUMT). She is an academician and researcher in the field of marketing. Her research interest focusses on consumer behaviour and consumption, examining aspects related to customer loyalty, satisfaction, attitude, perception, and behaviour.

Khoong Tai Wai is a Practitioner-turned-Academician. He has more than 10 years of experience in business development in both the tangible and financial services industries. Currently, he serves as an Assistant Professor at Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology. He holds a Chartered Islamic Finance Professional and Registered Financial Planner professional designation. He was appointed to serve as a member of the Certification and CPD Board for the Malaysian Financial Planning Council (MFPC). In addition, he is a MFPC-certified trainer and examiner. His research area focusses on financial inclusion, Islamic finance, and business analytics.

Brian Kee Mun Wong holds a PhD in Tourism Management from the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. He is also a Fellow at the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK. Currently, as a Professor and the Dean of the Faculty of Business, Design and Arts at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, Malaysia, he is actively connecting initiatives between the academics and the industry. His research interest is in the areas of marketing, management, and entrepreneurial mindset.

Preface

In an era marked by unprecedented technological advancements, the retail industry is at the forefront of a transformative journey. Augmenting Retail Reality, Part A: Blockchain, AR, VR, and the Internet of Things delves into the dynamic interplay between cutting-edge technologies and the evolving landscape of retail commerce. This book serves as a comprehensive guide for retailers, researchers, students, and technology enthusiasts, exploring how innovations such as the internet of things (IoT), blockchain, robotics, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and other emerging technologies are reshaping the retail sector.

The genesis of this book is rooted in the recognition that technology is not merely an auxiliary component but a fundamental driver of change in retail. As the digital revolution continues to accelerate, retailers must navigate a complex and rapidly evolving environment where customer expectations are constantly shifting, and new opportunities for growth are continually emerging. This publication is a response to the urgent need for an in-depth examination of how these technologies are transforming customer experiences, operational efficiencies, and business models within the retail industry.

Our journey begins with an exploration of the IoT’s role in linking supply and demand in retail. This foundational chapter sets the stage for understanding how IoT enables a seamless integration of customer touchpoints, thereby enhancing the shopping experience and optimising supply chain operations. The subsequent chapters delve into the transformative power of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, fortifying payment gateway security, and the rise of Industry 4.0 technologies that are driving the future of smart retail.

AR and VR take centre stage as we examine their profound impact on creating immersive shopping environments and enhancing customer engagement. We explore the dynamic relationship between employees and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered service robots, highlighting the collaborative potential and operational efficiencies that these technologies bring to retail settings. Additionally, this book addresses the convergence of IoT and over-the-top platforms, offering insights into how digital content distribution is being revolutionised.

The narrative is enriched by practical examples, success stories, and best practices from industry leaders. Each chapter provides a detailed analysis of current trends, challenges, and opportunities, offering readers a holistic understanding of the technological landscape in retail. By bridging the gap between theoretical insights and real-world applications, this book empowers readers to make informed decisions and drive innovation within their own spheres of influence.

Augmenting Retail Reality: Blockchain, AR, VR, and the Internet of Things is not just a compilation of technological insights; it is a beacon guiding retailers towards a future where technology and commerce seamlessly merge. As we stand at the cusp of this new era, it is imperative to embrace the possibilities that these technologies offer. This book is dedicated to all those who seek to understand, navigate, and lead in the ever-evolving world of retail technology.

We extend our deepest gratitude to the contributors whose expertise and insights have made this publication possible. Their dedication to exploring the frontiers of retail technology has been instrumental in shaping the comprehensive and forward-looking narrative presented in these pages. We hope that this book will serve as an invaluable resource, inspiring innovation and fostering a deeper understanding of the transformative potential of technology in retail.

Welcome to the future of retail.

Balraj Verma, Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India

Amit Mittal, Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab, India

Murali Raman, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Malaysia

Birud Sindhav, University of Nebraska Omaha, USA