The rise of live shopping and immersive technologies in the fashion retail: from an exploratory literature review to a conceptual framework

The digital era is radically changing how firms do business (Rachinger et al., 2018; Foss and Saebi, 2018; Apostolov and Coco, 2020; Capurro et al., 2021; Garzella et al., 2021). As a consequence, there has been great hype that has led organisations to make considerable investments to explore how they can use digital technologies to build or improve their competitive positions (Foss and Saebi, 2018; Fiorentino et al., 2020; Broccardo et al., 2023).

Studies (Schaltegger et al., 2016; Yang et al., 2017) point out that novel business models are achieved through digital technologies, by driving radical competitive, organisational and governance transformations (Lanzolla and Giudici, 2017; Schuelke-Leech, 2018). In this perspective, digital transformation is understood not only as the integration of technologies but as a strategic and cultural process that reshapes firms' organizational logic, redefining how value is created and shared across several actors (Porter and Heppelmann, 2015; Pan et al., 2018; Ritter and Pedersen, 2020).

Digitalization and the related digital technologies support the development of (re)new “sharing economy” business models (Capurro et al., 2024a); “traditional” business models are increasingly challenged by platform-based and ecosystem-oriented logics emphasizing network effects, co-creation, and mass personalization (Parker et al., 2016; Alsmadi et al., 2023).

In this context, fashion is among the industries most affected by the digitalization trend (Bertola and Teunissen, 2018; Casciani et al., 2022; Capurro et al., 2023). Currently, digitalization affects every aspect of fashion businesses, especially purchasing processes, and pushes firms toward “sharing” and participatory models of value creation (Casciani et al., 2022). Given the pace of technological innovation and the convergence of multiple digital trends–such as the rise of immersive commerce, the blending of physical and virtual experiences, and the increasing importance of data-driven personalization-fashion retailers face a landscape marked by both unprecedented opportunities and complex managerial challenges (Li et al., 2024; Lavoye et al., 2021; Fachrunnisa et al., 2020).

The rapid digital and technological advancements, therefore, have profoundly expanded the range of strategic tools available to fashion retailers, enabling new forms of interaction, distribution, and value creation. Within this broad digital transformation, firms are increasingly experimenting with hybrid formats that integrate content, social interaction, and commerce (Jin and Shin, 2020; Colombi and D'Itria, 2023). The integration of advanced digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR) has further accelerated this transition, supporting not only the evolution of e-commerce but also the development of innovative business models in two-sided markets (Lavoye et al., 2021; Guercini, 2023; Capurro et al., 2024b). Relevant examples include global digital platforms such as TikTok Shop and Amazon Live, which demonstrate how interaction, entertainment, and commerce converge within increasingly complex digital ecosystems (Bray, 2024; Ariffin et al., 2024).

In fashion, indeed, digital transformation unfolds across both technological and symbolic dimensions, where consumer participation and cultural meaning coalesce to form new models of engagement. This dual nature explains why fashion is particularly suited to exploring how digital technologies reshape not only commerce but also brand experience and identity (Ossewaarde, 2019; Arora et al., 2022).

The digital evolution has triggered a significant shift from traditional physical channels to digital ones (Hagberg et al., 2016; Denicolai et al., 2021; Capurro et al., 2024b). Although physical stores (also known as “brick-and-mortar”) remain important, the growth of e-commerce and electronic trade in fashion products has been substantial (Bhatnagar and Syam, 2014; Guercini et al., 2018; Jocevski et al., 2019). The link between e-commerce and physical stores is therefore not merely a channel shift, but a fundamental redefinition of the retail business model and of the fashion value proposition (Ofek et al., 2011; Avery et al., 2013). Scholars stress the need for integrated management of touchpoints to ensure a seamless and effective customer experience across all channels (Picot-Coupey et al., 2016; Landmark and Sjøbakk, 2017).

This transition marks a movement from transactional to relational paradigms, where interaction, co-creation, and data feedback replace linear selling processes. As firms evolve toward experiential and omnichannel models, understanding how digital and physical dynamics intertwine becomes essential to mapping fashion's transformation (Shamim and Ghazali, 2014; Nadeem et al., 2021).

In this perimeter, the phenomenon of Live Shopping Streaming (LSS), which seamlessly combines entertainment and commerce–commonly referred to as “shoppertainment”- exemplifies this redefinition by providing highly engaging and unique purchasing experiences (Guercini et al., 2020; Wünderlich et al., 2020). LSS represents a paradigmatic shift in which entertainment functions as a direct conduit for shopping, generating a distinctive and immersive experience that merges commerce with digital entertainment (Milanesi et al., 2023).

Specifically, LSS is a practice that combines real-time video broadcasting, entertainment, and direct purchasing functionalities in a single digital environment. Through its synchronous, interactive, and performative nature, LSS introduces a new logic of consumption, where communication and transaction overlap, and where consumer participation becomes both a behavioral driver and a value-creation mechanism (Chen et al., 2022). In this sense, LSS can be understood as a concrete strategic manifestation of digital transformation processes by representing a specific organizational and market response that leverages digital infrastructures to reshape how fashion products are presented, experienced, and sold (Yim et al., 2017).

While digital transformation is a wide and multifaceted phenomenon, LSS occupies a more focused domain. It operationalizes several core principles of digital transformation—interactivity, platformization, data feedback loops, and ecosystem-based value creation—within the specific context of retail and consumer engagement (Grewal et al., 2017a; Bawack et al., 2023). In this sense, LSS does not replace or equate to digital transformation, but exemplifies how some of digital transformation's logics materialize in practice through new commercial formats that blend entertainment, communication, and transaction (Mindiasari et al., 2024).

LSS enables brands and sellers to recreate elements of physical retail—such as storytelling, personal interaction, and product demonstration—within digital environments, while simultaneously exploiting platform-based affordances such as scalability, real-time feedback, algorithmic visibility, and community building. As a result, LSS has emerged as a strategic tool that connects digital technologies with experiential marketing and participatory consumption (Wu and Huang, 2023). Through its performative, social, and immersive characteristics, LSS reshapes the consumer journey from a linear decision-making process into a circular and co-created experience in which engagement, trust formation, and purchase intention evolve simultaneously. This makes LSS not simply another digital channel, but a distinct retail format that challenges traditional assumptions about selling, branding, and customer relationships (Fan et al., 2022).

Despite its rapid diffusion and growing relevance in global fashion markets, the academic literature on LSS remains fragmented and largely underdeveloped when compared to the broader body of work on digital transformation and e-commerce (Steenkamp, 2020; Milanesi et al., 2023). Most existing studies focus on short-term behavioral outcomes, such as purchase intention, perceived enjoyment, or trust, and are predominantly cross-sectional (Picot-Coupey et al., 2016; Latino et al., 2024; Zhang and Liu, 2024). Consequently, they provide limited insight into how LSS contributes to longer-term strategic issues such as business model innovation, competitive positioning, organizational capabilities, and ecosystem governance. Moreover, deeper insights are needed into strategic change management, especially in light of the transformative role that global digital platforms play in shaping contemporary value ecosystems (Guercini and Runfola, 2015; Steenkamp, 2020).

This gap is not merely empirical but also conceptual. While digital transformation research offers rich frameworks to understand platformization, ecosystem dynamics, and value co-creation, it rarely addresses how these processes are enacted through specific retail practices such as live streaming (Bean, 2016; Snihur and Wiklund, 2019). Conversely, LSS studies tend to analyze micro-level engagement and persuasion dynamics without sufficiently embedding them in broader theories of strategic renewal and business model change. As a result, there is still limited understanding of how LSS functions as a bridge between digital infrastructures and strategic innovation in fashion retail.

These considerations reveal the necessity for a comprehensive, multidisciplinary investigation into the strategic and business implications of digital transformation and emerging technologies in fashion retail. This need is particularly pronounced with regard to phenomena like LSS, which are redefining customer engagement, experiential marketing, and transactional dynamics in unprecedented ways.

According to research gap, the study posits the following research questions: (1) how digital transformation is reshaping business models and value creation processes in fashion retail?; (2) how emerging technologies, particularly LSS, influence consumer behavior and decision-making?; and (3) how these processes drive innovation within fashion ecosystems?.

To address these objectives, the paper adopts a multiple theoretical perspective drawing from strategy, marketing, and digital entrepreneurship. This cross-disciplinary perspective allows the paper to connect behavioral, technological, and managerial dimensions under a single interpretive framework, linking theories of consumer engagement with models of digital innovation and governance.

Specifically, it presents an exploratory literature review (Asmussen and Møller, 2019) on the LSS phenomenon to map the evolving landscape within the broader context of digital transformation in fashion retail. Such a review allows for: (1) systematizing a rapidly growing but dispersed body of knowledge; (2) clarifying the distinctive characteristics that differentiate LSS from other digital retail formats; and (3) positioning LSS within the broader theoretical debates on digital transformation, business models, and platform-based ecosystems.

Rather than reiterating generic claims about digital technologies, this approach advances existing research by showing how a concrete phenomenon such as LSS operationalizes digital transformation at the intersection of technology, consumer experience, and strategic management.

Based on the insights emerging from the exploratory literature review, the study subsequently develops and presents a conceptual framework that highlights the multi-layered ecosystem of digital transformation in fashion retail and contributes to the identification of emerging trends, unexplored research areas, and practical challenges that can inspire future academic and managerial advancements. In doing so, it bridges the descriptive and analytical gaps in the existing literature and contributes to shaping a clearer understanding of how live streaming and immersive technologies transform the business logic of fashion retail.

This study offers theoretical and managerial contributions. Specifically, the study extends digital transformation research in the fashion sector by providing an integrative and multidisciplinary conceptualizations on the LSS phenomenon. It bridges fragmented streams of research from marketing, strategy, and digital entrepreneurship, offering a unified framework that connects consumer engagement mechanisms (such as immersion, social presence, and co-creation) with firm-level strategic dynamics (such as platform dependence, ecosystem orchestration, and organizational adaptation). This multi-level perspective moves beyond predominantly behavioral and cross-sectional approaches and contributes to a deeper understanding of LSS as a strategic and organizational phenomenon rather than merely a technological or promotional innovation. From a strategic management perspective, the analysis presents digital practices and processes that could support business model innovation, reshaping value creation, value capture, and governance mechanisms in fashion ecosystems.

Managerially, the study offers guidance to fashion firms on how to strategically integrate LSS into their business models. It highlights how LSS can support experiential differentiation, strengthen customer relationships, enhance data-driven decision-making, and foster new forms of collaboration with platforms, influencers, and technology providers. By clarifying the strategic implications of LSS adoption, the paper helps managers better understand its potential role in driving innovation, competitive positioning, and sustainable value creation within increasingly platformized and interactive fashion retail ecosystems.

The paper is structured as follows. Section 2 analyzes LSS within the broader context of digital transformation in fashion retail. Section 3 outlines the research methodology. Section 4 presents the key findings and provides a conceptual framework. Section 5 discusses the conclusions and advances an agenda for further research.

In the fashion industry, digital transformation has progressively shifted the center of gravity from physical to digital channels, accelerating the growth of e-commerce and challenging traditional retail formats, often described as part of the so-called “retail apocalypse” (Guercini et al., 2018; Jocevski et al., 2019). The role of brick-and-mortar stores is increasingly redefined by the fashion firms within hybrid and omnichannel configurations in which digital technologies reshape how value is created, communicated, and captured (Gallino and Moreno, 2014; Alsmadi et al., 2023; Capurro et al., 2024a). This evolution emphasizes network effects, co-creation, and mass personalization, moving firms beyond linear value chains toward interactive and customer-centric systems. As a result, the boundaries between production, distribution, and consumption have become increasingly blurred, and digital platforms have turned into spaces of continuous interaction where technological and experiential innovation converge (Ferrigno et al., 2023).

Within this broader transformation, LSS has emerged as a distinctive manifestation of digitalization in fashion retail. LSS can be defined as the integration of real-time video streaming with commercial transactions, combining entertainment and shopping into a unified and highly interactive environment (Chen et al., 2022; Milanesi et al., 2023). Through live product demonstrations, storytelling, and audience interaction, LSS reconfigures online retail into a form of “shoppertainment”, where communication and transaction occur simultaneously (Kumar, 2022). Gamified dynamics, social interaction, and performative elements sustain consumer attention and enrich the shopping experience, transforming passive viewing into active participation (Yim et al., 2017).

Unlike traditional e-commerce formats, LSS enables intense forms of value co-creation among firms, streamers (often influencers), and consumers. It allows more realistic product presentations, immediate feedback, and emotionally charged interactions that replicate and, in some cases, enhance the relational qualities of physical stores (Landmark and Sjøbakk, 2017; Wibowo et al., 2021). In this sense, LSS operates as both a technological and relational interface, linking firm-level strategic objectives with micro-level behavioral processes and fostering the continuous co-evolution of consumer experience and business models.

The convergence of entertainment and commerce that characterizes LSS reflects a broader shift in digital retail toward experiential and omnichannel logics (Picot-Coupey et al., 2016).

Although research on LSS has developed primarily in Asian markets, especially in China (Fodouop Kouam, 2025), recent studies in Western contexts confirm its growing relevance and highlight how cultural and institutional conditions shape its adoption and diffusion. This demonstrates that LSS is a global phenomenon whose implementation and strategic meaning remain locally contingent, reinforcing the importance of contextualized analysis.

The literature increasingly interprets LSS not merely as a new sales channel, but as a complex digital ecosystem that reshapes brand–consumer relationships and enables new forms of digital entrepreneurship (Wünderlich et al., 2020; Wu and Huang, 2023). Within this ecosystem, firms experiment with innovative governance mechanisms, revenue models, and community-based engagement strategies, positioning LSS as a strategic space for business model innovation rather than a purely tactical marketing tool.

The effectiveness of LSS is further strengthened by the integration of advanced digital technologies. Artificial Intelligence supports automated customer assistance, personalized recommendations, virtual influencers, and even continuous live-like presentations through holographic or AI-generated hosts (Gupta et al., 2024; Mishra et al., 2025). At the same time, AR and VR enhance product visualization through virtual try-ons and immersive showrooms, enriching the customer journey with multisensory and interactive experiences (Yim et al., 2017; Loureiro et al., 2020; Gallery, 2024). Together, these technologies transform online shopping into a vivid, immersive, and emotionally engaging experience (Kim and Cheeyong, 2015). Beyond their experiential value, they also generate large volumes of behavioral data that inform content strategies, product development, and community management, creating a virtuous cycle between innovation and insight.

Gamification further reinforces the hybrid nature of LSS (Chang and Yu, 2023). Defined as the application of game design elements in non-game contexts (Zichermann and Linder, 2013; Hsu and Chen, 2018; Mattke and Maier, 2021), gamification enhances engagement, loyalty, and purchase intention by turning consumption into a participatory and rewarding experience. In LSS, gamification acts as a cognitive and emotional bridge between entertainment and persuasion, transforming shopping into an ongoing process of interaction rather than a single transactional event (Fayola et al., 2024).

Through these dynamics, LSS fosters intense forms of stakeholder engagement and value co-creation among companies, streamers, and consumers (Harwood and Garry, 2015; Kapoor et al., 2018; Milanesi et al., 2023). Its interactive nature amplifies involvement and trust, supporting the idea that digital transformation extends beyond front-end innovation toward deeper organizational change, where responsiveness, collaboration, and experiential design become central strategic capabilities (Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004; Verhoef et al., 2015).

From the consumer perspective, LSS enhances transparency and relational proximity by enabling real-time interaction with brands, immediate answers to questions, and socially shared consumption experiences (Gallino and Moreno, 2014; Kalbaska et al., 2018). The immediacy and intimacy of engagement distinguish LSS from traditional online retail and help convert viewers into active participants, strengthening both experiential value and sales performance (Li et al., 2024). This participatory character explains LSS's ability to integrate emotional and utilitarian dimensions of shopping, which represents its primary source of differentiation in digital commerce.

From a managerial standpoint, LSS offers significant advantages, including higher conversion rates, reduced marketing costs through direct interaction and organic promotion, and expanded market reach beyond geographical constraints (Lu and Chen, 2021; Ki et al., 2024).

Importantly, LSS can also empower small and resource-constrained firms by lowering entry barriers and enabling scalability, provided a stable supply capacity is ensured (Zhang et al., 2024). In this sense, LSS functions as a strategic equalizer within the fashion ecosystem.

Finally, within omnichannel strategies, LSS emerges as a connective mechanism that integrates digital and physical touchpoints into a coherent experiential architecture (Picot-Coupey et al., 2016; Landmark and Sjøbakk, 2017; Denicolai et al., 2021). By merging immediacy, interactivity, and entertainment, LSS becomes a pivotal component of contemporary fashion retail models, embodying how digital transformation materializes into concrete practices that reshape both consumer experience and strategic positioning.

To examine the adoption and impact of LSS in the fashion retail industry, a multifaceted theoretical perspective is required, as the phenomenon simultaneously involves technological infrastructures, consumer psychology, organizational strategies, and institutional dynamics. This complexity requires the integration of complementary frameworks therefore enables analysis across multiple levels—individual, organizational, and institutional—ensuring conceptual coherence and strengthening the analytical rigor of the study.

At the technological and adoption level, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and its extensions, particularly the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), provide a foundational lens to explain how perceived usefulness and ease of use shape both consumer and firm readiness to adopt LSS and related technologies such as AR and VR (Davis, 1989; Venkatesh et al., 2003). These models clarify the conditions under which digital innovation becomes viable in practice. However, adoption alone does not explain the experiential and strategic relevance of LSS. For this reason, TAM is complemented by the Service-Dominant Logic (SDL), which conceptualizes value as co-created through interaction among firms, platforms, streamers, and consumers (Grönroos and Gummerus, 2014), shifting the focus from technology as a tool to technology as an enabler of relational and experiential value creation.

Customer Experience (CX) theory further integrates these perspectives by emphasizing how technological adoption translates into perceived value along the entire customer journey (Verhoef et al., 2009; Lemon and Verhoef, 2016). In the context of LSS, CX theory bridges adoption models and experiential mechanisms, showing how emotionally engaging and interactive formats enhance satisfaction, loyalty, and competitive advantage in omnichannel environments (Becker and Jaakkola, 2020).

To deepen this understanding, the analysis draws on Affordance Theory, which explains how specific technological features—such as interactivity, real-time feedback, and immersion—enable or constrain user actions (Faraj and Azad, 2012). This perspective frames LSS as an environment of action possibilities that shapes engagement patterns, co-creation processes, and consumer agency. At the macro level, Institutional Theory explains how LSS diffuses within the fashion industry under the influence of normative, mimetic, and regulatory pressures (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983), highlighting how organizational adoption is embedded in broader ecosystem dynamics.

From a psychological and communication standpoint, several theories explain how consumers experience and respond to LSS. The Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) model shows how environmental cues—such as host characteristics, audiovisual richness, and interactivity—affect internal emotional and cognitive states, which in turn drive outcomes such as trust, engagement, and purchase intention (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974; Wibowo et al., 2021).

The immersive quality of LSS, especially when supported by AR and VR, intensifies these responses and enhances experiential vividness (Coyle and Thorson, 2001; Loureiro et al., 2020; Wu and Huang, 2023).

Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT) explains consumer motivations for participating in LSS, including entertainment, social interaction, convenience, and exclusivity (Katz et al., 1974).

Flow Theory adds that real-time interaction, compelling narratives, and multimedia stimulation can generate deep immersion, transforming shopping into an intrinsically rewarding experience (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Research on Vividness further shows that rich, multisensory product presentations enhance mental imagery, product understanding, and persuasion in digital environments (Steuer, 1992; Jiang and Benbasat, 2005).

Finally, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) explain how attitudes, subjective norms—often shaped by influencers and online communities—and perceived behavioral control influence purchase intentions and actions during live shopping events (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975; Ajzen, 1991). These mechanisms are reinforced by urgency and scarcity tactics, such as limited-time offers and countdowns, which stimulate fear of missing out and impulsive buying, increasingly optimized through AI-driven personalization (Chen et al., 2022).

Taken together, these perspectives depict LSS as a hybrid phenomenon in which technological affordances, emotional engagement, social influence, and institutional forces interact dynamically. This integrative framework allows LSS to be interpreted not merely as a sales channel, but as a digitally enabled, psychologically rich, and socially embedded form of retail that operationalizes the broader transformation of the fashion industry.

This research employs an exploratory literature review (Asmussen and Møller, 2019), aiming to map the academic debate on digital transformation in fashion retail with a focus on LSS, as well as the related emerging digital technologies. The exploratory approach is particularly suited to emerging topics characterized by conceptual fragmentation and methodological heterogeneity, such as LSS, where the purpose is not to test predefined hypotheses but to identify convergent insights and conceptual patterns (Ogawa and Malen, 1991).

The primary objective is to delineate the current state of knowledge, identify key trends, and, crucially, highlight unexplored areas or unresolved questions to guide future theoretical and practical contributions. The study sought an in-depth understanding of the strategic, managerial, and economic implications of LSS, as well as the related immersive technologies (i.e. AI; AR; VR) on consumer behavior, value creation, and firm performance.

To achieve this aim, the review was structured to connect three analytical levels: (1) firm strategies and governance models, (2) technological affordances shaping consumer experience, and (3) the broader ecosystemic implications of digital transformation.

Given the emergent nature and rapid evolution of LSS, this literature analysis focused on studies published from 2017 to the present. This timeframe is justified by the significant growth in research within the live-streaming commerce sector during this period and by the necessity to capture the most recent dynamics of this highly innovative phenomenon.

This temporal framing is consistent with systematic review practices that align the timeframe with the evolution of the research topic (Nikolenko et al., 2017). This temporal boundary also ensures that the review reflects the technological maturity of immersive tools and the consolidation of digital platform economies, both of which are critical to understanding LSS evolution in fashion retail (Kitchin, 2023).

To ensure the relevance and academic quality of selected studies, rigorous criteria were defined. The review included peer-reviewed articles and full-length research articles, published in English, explicitly focusing on digital transformation, strategic governance, performance measurement, sustainability in retail, LSS, business models innovation, stakeholder engagement, online consumer behavior, and the application of AI, AR, and VR in a commercial context. The inclusion criteria were intentionally designed to encompass both conceptual and empirical contributions, allowing methodological diversity to enrich the interpretive scope of the analysis (Sanfilippo et al., 2020; Ki et al., 2024).

Particular attention was given to works that addressed the digitalization and automation of physical stores (Hagberg et al., 2017), the evolution of omnichannel strategies integrating e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retail (Picot-Coupey et al., 2016), and the psychological and experiential impacts of advanced technologies on consumer engagement (Zheng et al., 2022).

These aspects were considered essential for capturing the state-of-the-art in fashion retail transformation. This meticulous definition of criteria is fundamental for transparency and reproducibility in academic research. The process ensured both vertical depth, through domain-specific insights, and horizontal breadth, through cross-disciplinary integration across management, marketing, and information systems.

To comprehensively address this nascent and rapidly evolving academic domain, the literature analysis employed a methodologically rigorous approach.

While primarily drawing articles from internationally recognized academic databases, namely Scopus and Web of Science, the search was strategically augmented by additional records identified through other sources, ensuring a thorough understanding of this uncharted research landscape.

Such triangulation between primary and supplementary sources was instrumental in mitigating database bias and expanding the corpus to include emerging or interdisciplinary contributions relevant to fashion retail transformation (Jack and Raturi, 2006; Ki et al., 2020, 2024).

To maximize the relevance of the results, a strategic combination of keywords and pertinent phrases was employed, adapted to each database. These included terms such as: “Digital Transformation”, “Strategic Governance”, “Performance Measurement”, “Sustainability”, “Live Shopping Streaming”, “Value Creation”, “Business Models”, “Stakeholder Engagement”, “Consumer Behavior”, “Impulse Buying”, “Social Commerce”, “Artificial Intelligence Retail”, “Augmented Reality Shopping”, “Virtual Reality Commerce”, “E-Commerce Innovation”, “Interactive Shopping”, “Real-Time Commerce”, “Consumer Engagement in Live Streaming” and “Shoppertainment”. The use of such detailed search strings and their adaptability to specific databases represents a standard practice in rigorous academic inquiry. Additionally, the iterative refinement of search strings during the process allowed for greater sensitivity in capturing relevant contributions while maintaining analytical specificity (Ki et al., 2020).

This approach follows the recommendations of Landmark and Sjøbakk (2017) and Ofek et al. (2011), who emphasize the importance of including both digital and physical retail innovation keywords to ensure comprehensive coverage of omnichannel evolution.

The article selection proceeded through two progressive and rigorous phases. In the initial phase, articles were filtered based on their title and abstract to assess preliminary relevance to the themes of digital transformation, strategic governance, sustainability, and LSS.

Subsequently, for articles that passed this initial screening, a full reading was conducted for a more in-depth evaluation of their thematic relevance and methodological quality. This two-phase process ensured that only the most significant and authoritative publications were included in the final review, thereby ensuring the internal and external validity of the research.

The evaluation of methodological quality paid specific attention to research design, sampling logic, and analytical robustness, ensuring balanced representation across quantitative, qualitative, and conceptual studies.

For each selected article, data pertinent to the research objectives were systematically extracted. This included the research methodologies employed, key findings, theoretical and managerial implications, and identified research gaps. The extracted information was then synthesized and thematically grouped.

To enhance analytical reliability, the extracted data were cross-validated through iterative comparison, enabling convergence across themes and reducing interpretative bias. This phase was crucial not only for identifying recurring patterns and emerging trends but also for highlighting areas where the literature presented significant gaps, thus allowing for the formulation of hypotheses and directions for new theoretical contributions.

The resulting synthesis integrates both descriptive mapping and interpretive depth, providing a bridge between empirical evidence and conceptual insight.

Given the emerging and rapidly evolving nature of the topic, the literature analysis was conducted as a post hoc but methodologically rigorous reconstruction, in line with established practices for exploratory reviews in innovation research (Tranfield et al., 2003; Arksey and O'Malley, 2005). However, the process adhered to academic standards of transparency, replicability, and analytical depth. The reconstruction was based on thorough documentation of the search strategy, inclusion criteria, and article selection steps.

This flexible design ensured adaptability to the interdisciplinary nature of LSS studies, where conceptual boundaries between marketing, technology, and organizational research are still fluid. This adaptive yet rigorous approach allowed for a more context-sensitive reading of a dynamic academic field and supported the inductive identification of novel insights.

The article selection process is summarized in Figure 1 to clarify the structure, the transparency, and the filtering strategy that guided the construction of the final corpus.

Specifically, the diagram illustrates the methodological pathway from initial identification through Scopus and Web of Science (n = 142), and additional sources (n = 6), to the final inclusion of eight core studies. Duplicates were removed (n = 18), and titles and abstracts of 130 unique records were screened. A total of 104 records were excluded based on lack of relevance or quality.

Of the remaining 26 full-text articles assessed for eligibility, 11 were excluded due to insufficient methodological rigor or misalignment with the study's objectives.

The final corpus includes fifteen high-quality, thematically pertinent studies, which formed the basis for data extraction and thematic synthesis.

This selection was guided by the principle of theoretical saturation, ensuring that the final corpus adequately captured the conceptual diversity of the field.

This stepwise reconstruction process ensured transparency and analytic consistency, even within the flexible design of an exploratory review, enabling the identification of underexplored research areas and theoretical gaps in the evolving domain of LSS and digital retail innovation.

By combining analytical rigor with adaptive flexibility, the methodology aligns with best practices in emerging-field research and strengthens the validity of the findings presented in subsequent sections.

Studies have been selected to represent a balance between digital, omnichannel, and technological innovation perspectives. To provide a more robust theoretical and empirical research basis, sources related to the digitalization of physical stores, omnichannel integration, and automation, as well as psychological and experiential impacts in fashion retail, are included. Table 1 presents the studies included in the review, providing a quick overview of the primary sources and their contexts.

This balanced composition ensures that the corpus captures both technological advancements and behavioral insights, which are jointly necessary to interpret the LSS phenomenon.

In order to maximize the competitive and economic benefits of LSS and to guide fashion firms towards a successful digital journey, our analysis critically identifies gaps in the existing literature and future research directions on these topics. In this sense, Table 2 highlights the main findings and research gaps for each macro-area of analysis, providing a synthetic overview of the state of the art and future directions. This analytical framework translates literature fragmentation into an organized matrix that facilitates cross-comparison among themes and reveals latent interdependencies.

Each thematic area now explicitly references the omnichannel, digitalization, and automation themes and includes relevant theoretical and managerial implications. It is also mapped to both the main applied theories and the specific research gaps highlighted in the literature. This explicit mapping enhances traceability between theoretical constructs and empirical observations, reinforcing internal coherence across the review.

This scheme is structured to clarify the links among economic, technological, consumer, and cross-cutting themes, such as governance, innovation, sustainability. The cross-linking of dimensions allows a systemic understanding of how digital transformation unfolds as an ecosystemic process in fashion retail.

Specifically, the main research gaps should be summarized in: longitudinal studies to understand long-term effects on financial performance, customer loyalty, and sustainability; exploration of organizational and governance implications, including adoption challenges and AI mechanisms; deeper understanding of the dominant role of global digital platforms and the interaction of AI, AR, and VR in these ecosystems; comparative research to understand cultural and geographical differences in consumer behavior and technology adoption; and in-depth investigations into ethical, privacy, and security issues related to the pervasive use of AI and immersive technologies.

These research avenues collectively outline a future agenda capable of integrating technological innovation with social responsibility, offering a roadmap for both scholars and practitioners. The critical identification of gaps is a fundamental component of literature reviews, guiding the field towards further necessary exploration and offering new perspectives for research in a continually evolving field.

In this sense, future research directions explicitly address the need for studies on the digitalization and automation of physical stores (Hagberg et al., 2017), as well as the integration of omnichannel strategies that combine online and offline retail experiences (Picot-Coupey et al., 2016). Additionally, the growing importance of psychological and experiential impacts of advanced technologies on consumer engagement and trust (Zheng et al., 2022) is highlighted as a key area for further investigation.

Emphasis on experiential impacts underscores the evolution of retail research from operational efficiency toward emotional and relational engagement, aligning with the emerging paradigms of digital consumer experience.

Furthermore, future research should also explore the development of robust frameworks for performance measurement that incorporate both financial and non-financial indicators, as recommended by Zheng et al. (2022), and address the managerial challenges of implementing hybrid business models in the context of digital and sustainable transformation.

Such frameworks are essential to bridge the gap between technological implementation and strategic evaluation, ensuring that innovation translates into measurable competitive outcomes.

The findings of the literature review directly address the three research questions by showing how digital transformation, emerging technologies, and Live Shopping Streaming (LSS) jointly reshape business models, consumer behavior, and innovation dynamics in fashion retail.

With reference to the first research question, the literature shows that digital transformation is profoundly redefining business models and value creation processes in fashion retail. Firms are moving away from product-centric and transaction-oriented logics toward experience-centric, relational, and ecosystem-based models of value creation (Milanesi et al., 2023; Li et al., 2024). Value is no longer generated primarily through the sale of products, but through continuous interaction, engagement, and co-creation with consumers and other stakeholders.

Digital platforms enable new forms of collaboration between brands, streamers, influencers, and customers, transforming retail into a dynamic network of relationships. This shift reshapes competitive logics, as firms increasingly compete on their ability to design immersive experiences, manage communities, and leverage data-driven insights rather than solely on price or product differentiation. Business models thus evolve toward hybrid configurations that integrate commerce, entertainment, and social interaction, supported by omnichannel and platform-based architectures.

Regarding the second research question, the findings highlight that emerging technologies—particularly LSS—exert a strong influence on consumer behavior and decision-making by activating both cognitive and emotional mechanisms. LSS transforms online shopping into “shoppertainment”, where interactivity, authenticity, and real-time engagement become central drivers of trust and purchase intention (Chen et al., 2022; Gu et al., 2024). The literature shows that consumer responses are shaped by a layered mechanism in which technological affordances (such as live interaction, audiovisual richness, and immediacy) stimulate emotional involvement, which in turn affects behavioral outcomes such as impulse buying (Park et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2022), loyalty, and sustained engagement. AI, AR, and VR further intensify these effects by enabling personalization, immersive visualization, and realistic product experiences (Flavián et al., 2019; Wu and Huang, 2023). As a result, LSS does not merely support transactional efficiency but reconfigures the consumer decision process into a socially embedded, experiential, and participatory journey.

Concerning the third research question, the findings indicate that the interaction between digital transformation and LSS drives innovation across fashion ecosystems by fostering new organizational capabilities, governance models, and forms of strategic experimentation. LSS acts as a catalyst for innovation by encouraging firms to rethink content creation, community management, data analytics, and collaboration with digital platforms and influencers (Wang et al., 2022).

Innovation emerges not only at the technological level but also at the organizational and institutional levels, as firms experiment with new revenue models, hybrid channel configurations, and experiential formats. The integration of LSS with omnichannel strategies and the digitalization of physical retail spaces demonstrates that innovation increasingly takes place at the intersection of online and offline environments, where consistency, personalization, and continuity of experience become strategic priorities (Picot-Coupey et al., 2016; Guercini et al., 2018).

Furthermore, the literature highlights that data-driven insights function as the connective tissue linking consumer behavior with strategic decision-making, enabling predictive, adaptive, and personalized retail management. In this perspective, innovation is sustained by the continuous feedback loop between consumer engagement, behavioral analytics, and managerial action.

The emergence of the Metaverse further extends this dynamic, acting as an experimental arena in which immersive technologies, digital fashion, and virtual economies converge. It reinforces the strategic dimension of digital transformation by enabling new forms of production planning (e.g. digital twins), marketing, and experiential commerce, and by expanding the boundaries of fashion ecosystems beyond traditional spatial and organizational constraints (Schroeder, 2021; Pratas, 2023; Capurro et al., 2024b).

Overall, the findings show that digital transformation reshapes business models by embedding experience, co-creation, and platform logics at their core (RQ1); that LSS and related technologies transform consumer behavior by merging emotional engagement with transactional decision-making (RQ2); and that the interaction between these processes drives innovation by enabling new organizational practices, ecosystem configurations, and strategic experimentation in fashion retail (RQ3).

The literature review at the intersection of digitalization processes and business-model redesign in fashion retail has enabled us to elaborate a conceptual framework for scholars and practitioners that maps the key themes deriving from the extant research on digital evolution and LSS (Figure 2).

In particular, the framework highlights the multi-layered ecosystem of digital transformation within the fashion retail sector, systematically illustrating the interplay of technologies, theories, and stakeholders that characterize this ongoing evolution. This conceptual structure integrates theoretical, behavioral, and technological dimensions, offering an interpretive model through which the evolution of retail logics can be explained rather than merely described.

The framework is organized into three primary layers, each reflecting a progression from foundational retail channels to advanced digital environments.

At the base, the diagram depicts the fundamental shift in retail channels, beginning with “Brick-and-Mortar” (traditional physical stores) and “E-commerce” (online retail platforms). These channels converge into an “Omnichannel” strategy, which signifies the creation of unified and seamless customer experiences across all touchpoints, whether physical or digital. This progression underscores the foundational infrastructure that enables digital transformation. It also demonstrates how firms evolve from channel coordination to experience orchestration, implying a shift from operational integration to strategic alignment.

The integration of digital and physical touchpoints, as well as the automation of physical stores, is now central to competitive advantage in the fashion sector; the omnichannel approach is thus essential for orchestrating complex consumer journeys and leveraging both digital and traditional assets (Picot-Coupey et al., 2016; Hagberg et al., 2017).

Above this layer, the central section of the framework is dedicated to “Interactive Innovations”.

Here, the focus is on two prominent digital engagement strategies: LSS, which represents real-time interactive shopping experiences involving direct interaction between sellers or streamers and consumers (Pantano and Gandini, 2018), and Gamification, which refers to the integration of game-like elements and mechanics into non-game contexts such as shopping to enhance engagement, loyalty, and participation.

The literature suggests that these interactive innovations serve as transitional mechanisms between traditional omnichannel strategies and fully immersive digital ecosystems, providing a bridge that links behavioral engagement with technological evolution (Gallino and Moreno, 2014; Alsmadi et al., 2023; Capurro et al., 2024a). The diagram illustrates the flow of interaction and value co-creation among brands, streamers, and consumers; the presence of question marks within this layer suggests that the mechanisms and full potential of these interactions still require further investigation. This graphical representation intentionally leaves open nodes to indicate theoretical uncertainty, reinforcing the exploratory nature of the study and signaling areas for future inquiry.

Specifically, LSS and Gamification are areas where the interplay between digital and physical experiences is most pronounced yet underexplored in terms of long-term brand loyalty and value co-creation (Milanesi et al., 2023). In this sense, at this level, theories such as Flow, Theory of Planned Behavior/Theory of Reasoned Action (TPB/TRA), and Parasocial Relationships (PSR) are shown as influencing or being influenced by these interactive innovations, highlighting the psychological and behavioral dimensions of consumer engagement (Landmark and Sjøbakk, 2017). The need to understand the psychological impact of interactive innovations is crucial for both omnichannel and digital-first strategies.

These theoretical intersections illustrate how consumer engagement in LSS can evolve into sustained relational capital, providing a foundation for long-term competitive advantage.

At the top of the framework, the “Metaverse” is presented as a convergent digital space of the current frontier of digital transformation in fashion retail (Dwivedi et al., 2022).

This layer incorporates advanced technologies such as AI for personalization, data analysis, and automation; AR for overlaying digital information onto the real world, such as virtual try-ons; VR for creating immersive, simulated environments like virtual stores and fashion shows; and Digital Twins, which are virtual replicas of physical objects, processes, or people that enable simulations and real-time monitoring (MarketsandMarkets, 2018). The integration of these technologies is relevant for delivering seamless, personalized, and engaging customer experiences, as well as for developing more innovative and competitive performance in digital retail (Dolgui and Ivanov, 2023). The inclusion of “Digital Performance Indicators” (DPI) in this layer underscores the growing importance of data-driven insights for measuring performance and user engagement within the Metaverse.

This final layer thus encapsulates the transition from digital transformation to digital convergence, where strategic governance, technological infrastructure, and experiential design become interdependent.

Connecting elements within the framework illustrate the interplay between different layers and theoretical constructs. For example, SOR (Stimulus-Organism-Response) theory and UGT (Uses and Gratifications Theory) reflect how consumers respond to and utilize these digital environments.

Overarching themes such as Big Data and Performance Measurement are also represented, indicating their crucial role in optimizing the entire ecosystem. In the digital landscape, the importance of integrating data-driven innovation across both physical and digital channels is relevant to support competitive advantage and consumer trust.

This integrative view emphasizes the systemic nature of fashion retail transformation, wherein value emerges from interconnections rather than isolated components. The image further suggests several areas requiring additional research: the establishment of effective governance and ethical guidelines for digital retail (Grewal et al., 2017b; Snihur and Wiklund, 2019), the cross-cultural differences in technology adoption (Steenkamp, 2020), and the diverse forms of value co-creation that may emerge (Milanesi et al., 2023).

Collectively, these open areas delineate a future research agenda grounded in both ethical accountability and technological scalability, ensuring the social relevance of digital transformation in fashion.

In summary, the proposed framework offers a comprehensive and academically rigorous visualization of the digital transformation landscape in fashion retail. It maps out technological advancements, consumer behavior theories, stakeholder interactions, and critical research gaps, providing a valuable foundation for future scholarly inquiry. This framework is consistent with recent literature (Picot-Coupey et al., 2016) and underscores the need for integrated, multidisciplinary research to address the evolving challenges and opportunities in digital fashion retail. It therefore serves as both a synthesis of the current state of knowledge and a conceptual lens to guide subsequent empirical investigations in this rapidly developing field.

This study has shown that digital transformation, driven by Live Shopping Streaming (LSS), gamification, and immersive technologies, is not merely reshaping operational processes in fashion retail, but is fostering a profound reconfiguration of business models, competitive logics, and value creation mechanisms. The real transformative potential of digitalization does not lie in the simple adoption of new tools, but in their strategic integration with experiential design, organizational capabilities, and data-driven governance, signaling a transition toward an adaptive, participatory, and ecosystem-oriented retail paradigm.

Within this evolving scenario, fashion firms face increasingly complex challenges. They must balance the speed of technological innovation with organizational readiness, reconcile experimentation with strategic coherence, and respond to consumers who demand personalization, authenticity, sustainability, and inclusivity. LSS emerges as a critical strategic frontier in this process. Rather than a marginal or temporary phenomenon, it represents a space where storytelling, interactivity, and commerce converge, transforming customer engagement into a source of relational capital and brand equity. By reframing LSS as a transformational, rather than tactical, tool, this study advances a deeper understanding of how immersive commerce can drive new logics of value co-creation and differentiation in fashion retail.

From a theoretical perspective, the study contributes to the literature in several important ways. First, it enriches research on digital transformation and business model innovation by demonstrating how value creation is shifting from efficiency- and transaction-based models toward customer-centric configurations grounded in emotional engagement, interactivity, and personalization. Second, it bridges fragmented streams of research in strategy, marketing, and information systems by integrating technological, behavioral, and organizational perspectives into a unified interpretive framework. Third, it advances LSS scholarship by positioning it not simply as a promotional or sales channel, but as a strategic and organizational mechanism that operationalizes digital transformation at the intersection of experience design, platform governance, and ecosystem dynamics.

The study also extends marketing and consumer behavior literature by clarifying how hybrid and immersive retail environments reshape the nature of customer experience. Consistent with frameworks such as the Stimulus–Organism–Response model and Flow Theory, the findings highlight the central role of emotional engagement as a mediator between technological design and behavioral outcomes, thereby connecting micro-level psychological processes with macro-level strategic implications. This contributes to a more holistic understanding of how digital experiences generate both consumer value and competitive advantage.

From a managerial standpoint, the proposed conceptual framework provides actionable guidance for fashion firms seeking to navigate digital transformation. It suggests that technologies such as LSS, AI, AR, and gamification should not be implemented as isolated tools, but as interconnected components of a coherent omnichannel and experience-driven strategy. Managers are encouraged to view immersive commerce as a lever for business model innovation, community building, and brand differentiation, rather than as a short-term marketing initiative. The framework also highlights the importance of organizational readiness, emphasizing that successful digital transformation requires investments in governance structures, digital skills, leadership capabilities, and a culture of experimentation and learning. In this sense, competitive advantage increasingly depends on the firm's ability to align technological innovation with organizational coherence and strategic vision.

The study further emphasizes that the hybridization of retail spaces calls for a shift from a dual-channel logic to an omnichannel continuum, where physical and digital environments form an integrated “phygital” ecosystem. In such an ecosystem, value is generated through the consistency, continuity, and emotional resonance of the consumer experience across touchpoints, rather than through the dominance of any single channel. Firms capable of orchestrating this experiential coherence are better positioned to achieve sustained differentiation and long-term resilience.

In terms of future research, this work provides a theoretical foundation that invites empirical validation and extension. Future studies could adopt qualitative case studies to investigate how leading fashion retailers across different geographical and institutional contexts implement LSS, AR, AI, and gamification, and how these technologies reshape organizational structures, supply chains, and customer relationships. Longitudinal research designs would be particularly valuable to capture the evolution of digital strategies over time and to assess their cumulative impact on firm performance, customer equity, and brand legitimacy. Comparative studies across markets could further illuminate how cultural, regulatory, and institutional conditions influence the adoption and strategic role of immersive commerce.

Moreover, future research could deepen the analysis of sustainability and inclusivity within digital fashion ecosystems, examining how immersive technologies and platform-based models can support more responsible production, transparent communication, and broader participation of small firms and marginalized actors. This would extend the relevance of digital transformation beyond competitiveness toward its societal implications.

By offering a comprehensive conceptual framework centered on LSS and immersive commerce, it contributes to advancing both academic debate and managerial practice, encouraging a more strategic, integrative, and human-centered understanding of the future of fashion retail.