実店舗における出没自在エージェントのフィールド実験：エージェントの身体有無の動的制御が通行人の行動に与える影響の調査

抄録

In agent-based sales promotion within retail stores, balancing customer attraction with effective attention guidance during information presentation remains a critical challenge. This study investigates the impact of an “adaptive embodiment of an agent”―a Mixed Reality (MR) agent that dynamically adjusts its presence based on the interaction context―on user behavior within a physical space. Specifically, we examined the effects on user behavior of a behavior design in which the agent is physically present to attract customers at the initiation of the interaction and subsequently disappears to present information while directing attention to the product during the sales promotion. Results from a comparative experiment conducted in a retail store confirmed that this approach compensates for the drawbacks of static embodiment (constant presence or absence), enabling the simultaneous achievement of customer attraction and attention guidance. Additionally, a post-hoc exploratory analysis focusing on parent-child groups indicated that parents’ screen-gazing duration tended to be higher in the adaptive embodiment condition, providing preliminary insights for future research on the effects of dynamic embodiment in multi-party interactions.